The Warrens have been confirmed for the upcoming Annabelle 3 sequel, with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprising their roles.
Wilson and Farmiga have played the cinematic versions of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in four movies now — The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, Annabelle and Annabelle: Creation. According to a report by Collider, the upcoming spin-off/sequel, tentatively titled Anabelle 3, will have them right back in their roles. The movie is written by Gary Dauberman, who wrote Creation as well, though this time around he will make his debut as director.
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Dauberman and James Wan, who is producing the film, reportedly shared some details this year at Comic-Con. They confirmed that the new movie will find Annabelle back in the Warrens’ dreaded “artifact room,” where she (apparently) spent most of The Conjuring. As we have seen in other movies, the porcelain doll is not the only horror in that cluttered room, and this time around she will be enlisting some help from her neighbors.
“Annabelle basically activates all the other haunted artifacts in that room, so it’s basically Night at the Museum with Annabelle,” joked Wan.
As for Wilson and Farmiga, they will have what qualify as supporting roles in the film, despite the action originating in their house. The on-screen Warrens are generally static characters in these movies, though their expertise and interventions play a pivotal role in the stories at times.
This time around, Dauberman said that the stakes will be higher than ever for the Warrens, as their own daughter, Judy, is Annabelle’s target. Die-hard fans may recall that Judy Warren had a terrifying run-in with Annabelle in The Conjuring. Dauberman said that Judy is about 10 years old in the upcoming film, hinting that it takes place around the same time as The Conjuring in continuity.
Movies concerning the Warrens’ investigations have blossomed into a large shared horror movie universe, known unofficially as “The Conjuring Universe.” This includes both Conjuring movies, both Annabelle movies and the upcoming Conjuring 3 and Annabelle 2. In addition, this year’s The Nun and the upcoming The Crooked Man fall into that world as well. Serious fans are always hunting for connections and Easter eggs between the films.
The Warrens’ “artifact room” is the film analog of a real life “Occult Museum,” which they run out of the back of their house in Monroe, Connecticut. Production on Annabelle 3 begins this month in Los Angeles, California.
