Even ifThe Conjuringhas been very successful at expanding its shared narrative, it wasn’t always meant to be that way. During a recent interview withThe Hollywood Reporter,James Wan, the director of the original film and producer of the entire franchise, discussed how what was a small horror movie became a collection of sequels and spin-offs that managed to earn more than $2 billion at the worldwide box office. Apparently, the filmmaking and the team behind the first installment often discussed other cases the Warrens had looked into, without considering how big the series would eventually get:
It happened organically, but in the back of our minds, we always knew that the Warrens investigated so many different cases and that they had a museum of haunted artifacts. So, even while working on the first movie, we would spitball ideas, like, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could do a spinoff movie or a TV series where we touch on the different haunted artifacts in their museum?”
And that was really how the idea forAnnabelle(2014) came about. Annabelle is the crown jewel of the Warrens’ collection, and so a spinoff movie was a natural stepping stone. And afterAnnabellebecame successful, we realized thatThe Conjuringcould become the mothership to spawn other stories.
In 2013,The Conjuringwent on to earn $320 million at the worldwide box office based on a $20 million budget, proving to be an extremely profitable endeavor forWarner Bros.Before jumping into any direct sequels immediately after the release of the horror story, Wan knew that here was enough room for the studio to explore a couple of spin-offs, first. It made sense within the narrative they were trying to establish, as explaining the backstory of the horrors that Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) would eventually face, before they actually did, created more anticipation.
That’s how the first spin-off in the franchise came to be and, a year after the release of the original movie,Annabellemade her way to theaters. In that story,Annabelle WallisandWard Hortonplayed a couple expecting their first child, buying the doll to decorate the baby’s room. When they realized what the toy truly was, it was already too late, and their house was haunted. This spin-off managed to spawn a trilogy of its own, withAnnabelle: CreationandAnnabelle Comes Homepremiering in cinemas a few years after the franchise began.
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How Big isThe Conjuring UniverseNow?
There are currently three film series attached to the main franchise. The main storyline follows the Warrens as they solve paranormal cases across the country. TheAnnabelleseries follows the haunted porcelain doll wherever she goes, andThe Nunseries tells the story of a demon which manifests itself as a nun to mock the faith of the people it terrifies. Added to that,The Curse of La Lloronaalso takes place within theConjuringtimeline, even if doesn’t have major ramifications into the other stories.
