‘The Nun’ Director Reveals Behind The Scenes Photos From Set

Aiming for release on July 18, 2018, The Nun is a spin-off focusing on the demonic religious presence that haunted our protagonists in The Conjuring 2. The spin-off’s director, Corin Hardy, celebrated the film’s final day of shooting by taking to social media to share a commemorative photo of the cast and crew.

This tweet wasn’t the only time the director shared an inside look at the making of the highly anticipated film, as he was active on social media throughout the entire ordeal, giving fans an inside look at what they can expect to see in theaters next year.

Based on the director’s photos, it appears most of the film was shot in Romania and other parts of Eastern Europe, as he was regularly seen showing off a variety of spooky locations.

The Conjuring 2 offered little explanation of the demonic nun’s origins, other than she tormented Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) at multiple times throughout her life.

Scroll down to see more behind-the-scenes photos from the spin-off!

The Nun Returns

In The Conjuring 2, the nun’s backstory stayed pretty mysterious. The details that are currently known about the new film are also pretty vague, with the only description saying “a priest is dispatched to investigate the mysterious death of a nun in Rome.”

Bonnie Aarons, who played the character originally, will be reprising her role to some degree. However, it’s unknown if she’ll be playing the nun throughout the whole film or merely playing the supernatural visage of the religious figure.

In addition to Aarons, the film will star Demián Bichir as the priest, who will be joined by Game of Thrones star Charlotte Hope who is slated to play the character Sister Victoria, a nun who is plagued by a demonic presence, while American Horror Story‘s Taissa Farmiga will also play a nun.

Interestingly, Farmiga is the younger sister to Vera Farmiga, who stars in The Conjuring.

An Expanding Universe

With recent franchises like Paranormal Activity or The Purge, a horror film getting sequel after sequel isn’t a new concept, but with The Conjuring, the filmmakers are exploring different corners of the universe and expanding in ways unlike other horror films.

Following the success of 2013’s The Conjuring, one of the evil entities, a doll named “Annabelle,” got her own movie to explore her sinister origins. The doll’s backstory, in conjunction with The Conjuring, made for a much richer universe. Annabelle was such a success that it got its own sequel, Annabelle: Creation, which will hit theaters later this summer. 

The nun is only one of two compelling characters featured in The Conjuring 2, with another one of the entities, the Crooked Man, recently announced to be getting his own spin-off as well.

A Familiar Idea

Despite recent trends following a model of trying to release a horror film sequel every year, this new “Conjuring-Verse” has explored different facets of the established universe. This might be unconventional in 2017, but a shared horror movie universe has been around for over 80 years.

Back in the ’30s and ’40s, when there were far fewer movie studios, Universal Pictures owned the rights to the most iconic characters in horror, from Dracula to Frankenstein’s Monster to The Wolf Man. With far less red tape, the studio could have their characters crossover much more easily.

Recently, Universal announced it would once again attempt this model, with The Mummy being the first installment in a “Dark Universe,” which involves remakes of The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and many more. Sadly, The Mummy was a critical and box office disappointment, which puts the pressure for success on the next installment, The Bride of Frankenstein.

With three films already released, this new Conjuring-Verse has already earned $900 million worldwide, receiving acclaim for style and high-quality scares.

MORE NEWS:

• ‘Game of Thrones’ Star Charlotte Hope Joins ‘The Nun’
• Here’s What The Critics Are Saying About ‘Annabelle: Creation’
• 7 Frighteningly Fantastic Haunted House Films