The Conjuring: Last Rites may be the last movie in the blockbuster horror franchise to feature James Wan. Wan, who is the director behind Saw, Insidious, Furious 7, and Aquaman, helmed the first installment in the blockbuster horror franchise, 2013’s The Conjuring. He also returned to helm its 2016 sequel, The Conjuring 2.
While James Wan has not directed any other Conjuring movies, he has been a producer on every installment in the nine-film series, which is the 35th highest-grossing movie franchise of all time. This includes both installments in the spinoff franchise The Nun and all three Annabelle movies.
Puck‘s latest “What I’m Hearing” piece from Matthew Belloni reports that a major change could now be in store for the Conjuring Universe. They report that talks about the future of the franchise between James Wan, his production company Atomic Monster, and Warner Bros. (the studio behind The Conjuring) are not going well.
The current deal between Atomic Monster and Warner Bros. requires that Wan be credited as a producer on upcoming Conjuring movies, but Wan is reportedly pushing for higher pay. According to the report, the filmmaker “initially wanted 50 percent of future movies, then lowered the ask to 25 percent for an initial follow-up film and 50 percent after that.“
Wan is reportedly “threatening to walk away” should Warner Bros. not agree to these terms, but they are “balking.”
What This Means For The Conjuring Universe
A key element at the core of these negotiations is the fact that various parties disagree about the exact extent to which Wan is creatively involved in the Conjuring тιтles on which he is a producer only. Puck reports that New Line executive Richard Brener, for one, does not agree that Wan should be paid more.
The extant Conjuring movies have been produced by Atomic Monster, New Line Cinema, and the Safran Company, then distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Should Wan walk away and not meet his required duties on the next installment, he would be found in breach of contract, which would mean that he and Atomic Monster would no longer be involved in the Conjuring franchise. It would then be left to the devices of Warner Bros. and producer Peter Safran (who’s now the co-chairperson of DC Studios).
It remains to be seen if Wan’s potential exit from the franchise would have a major impact on the creative direction of the Conjuring franchise.
Our Take On The Conjuring Universe Update
Ultimately, there could be a way for this development to work in Warner Bros.’ favor. 2025’s The Conjuring: Last Rites, which has been advertised as the final chapter in the story of Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga), is being viewed as the end of the first phase of the franchise, according to a recent THR interview with Brener.
Therefore, even if The Conjuring: Last Rites is Wan’s final movie, the franchise is already swinging in a new direction, so a change in creative leadership may feel like a natural part of that. However, should Wan have a contentious exit, this could damage the franchise’s reputation at the exact time it needs to be building confidence in the next phase.
