The Conjuring: Last Rites is just a few months away and will reportedly be the final entry in Ed and Lorraine Warren’s story in this horror universe. After four main series Conjuring movies and countless related spinoffs, it finally seems like Warner Bros.’ successful franchise may have reached the perfect stepping-off point.

However, the possibility of Last Rites actually being the final movie in this franchise is seemingly quite low. There are several ways Warner Bros. could keep this series going without Ed and Lorraine Warren, focusing on spinoff properties like Annabelle and The Nun instead. However, this seems like a very underwhelming route for the franchise to take.

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The Conjuring Franchise Can Still End On A High

There’s Never Been A Truly Bad Conjuring Movie So Far

There are several factors to consider when ending a franchise, but one of the most important is what kind of legacy the final movie will leave behind. It’s important to end the series on a high note to ensure that Last Rites doesn’t stain the positive reputation that The Conjuring movies already have.

Pushing forward with too many unnecessary sequels would merely increase the risk of tapping the well of ideas dry, so it’s much safer to use Last Rites as a powerful, reliable ending that ties everything together without leaving any open ends. This feels like a very natural end to The Conjuring timeline, allowing the franchise to end without ever releasing a truly bad installment.

There are certainly flaws with The Conjuring 3 that have led certain audiences to believe that the franchise is dipping in quality, but Last Rites is the ideal opportunity to prove these skeptics wrong and solidify the universe as one of the horror genre’s most iconic and consistent franchises. This wouldn’t be sustainable forever, so it’s best to end the series while it makes sense.

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Last Rites Details The Final Case In The Warrens’ Career

There’s No More True Material To Use As Inspiration

There’s a reason The Conjuring 4 has been subтιтled Last Rites. The film is clearly being marketed as the final movie in the series, and to subvert these expectations with more unnecessary sequels would merely betray the trust of the existing audience. The true story of Last Rites centers around the Smurl haunting, which is widely understood to be the Warrens’ final case as supernatural investigators.

If The Conjuring franchise somehow continued past the plot of Last Rites, the stories would lose the air of historical realism that’s made them so engaging up to now. The reason so many audiences have allowed themselves to get lost in Ed and Lorraine Warren’s cases is because, on some level, they’re inspired by real events. Further Conjuring sequels wouldn’t have this benefit.

There’s always been criticism of The Conjuring movies not quite being as “real” as their true story approach seems to portray, and these problems would only get more noticeable if the writers were forced to move past the Warrens’ actual historical cases. Their final case is a very natural place for this story to end, and Last Rites seemingly understands that.

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The Conjuring Spinoffs Have Never Been As Good As The Main Series

The Nun & Annabelle Were Underwhelming Projects

Since Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have essentially confirmed they won’t be coming back to The Conjuring universe following Last Rites, the only way the franchise would be able to continue is through spinoff properties like The Nun or Annabelle. These have never been as well-received as the main Conjuring movies, so it feels unstable to hang the franchise’s hopes on them.

There have been discussions of a potential “Phase Two” of The Conjuring universe, but it’s not exactly clear what this would look like. The concept would likely rely on these spinoff properties to build upon the existing franchise without the Warrens at the center, but it seems unlikely the studio would use such poorly received stories as the basis for their whole franchise.

Movies like Annabelle and The Nun have Rotten Tomatoes scores of 28% and 24% respectively, which don’t even come close to the ratings of 86% and 80% that were given to the first two Conjuring movies. They might perform well at the box office, but the spinoffs clearly aren’t strong enough to carry this franchise into the future.

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The Franchise Wouldn’t Feel The Same Without Ed & Lorraine Warren

Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga Are Key Components Of This Series

Ultimately, the main problem with continuing The Conjuring universe after the release of Last Rites is that it would be missing the two main ingredients that make it such a beloved horror franchise: Wilson and Farmiga. Their lead performances and complex on-screen dynamics are what make these movies so engaging, and the franchise would struggle to easily replace them.

While it’s obviously possible to make a Conjuring movie without Wilson and Farmiga, that would be a huge risk that doesn’t seem justifiable given how poorly the spinoffs have been received in the past. The only sensible option would be jumping backwards in time and exploring the earlier days of the Warrens’ career with younger actors.

There are reportedly some flashback scenes in Last Rites that may be hinting towards an Ed and Lorraine prequel movie in the future, but this would still be a huge risk. Wilson and Farmiga have been the heart of this series for so long, it’s hard to imagine what The Conjuring franchise would even look like without them at its core.

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The Conjuring’s Box Office Performance Has Been Getting Worse

The Movies Are No Longer Commercially Reliable

Another major factor that needs to be considered when analyzing the future of this horror universe is the ongoing box office performance. Both The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 had fairly similar worldwide grosses of $319 million and $322 million, respectively (via Box Office Mojo), but this took a pretty major dip when The Conjuring 3 pulled in just $206 million.

This was the first sign that audiences were beginning to slowly lose interest in The Conjuring. However, Last Rites’ release will determine whether it returns to the franchise average or takes another substantial hit. Most of the series’ spinoffs have performed similarly, with recent projects like The Nun 2 managing a $269 million worldwide gross.

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Warner Bros. Has Better Horror Franchises To Focus On

The Studio Has A Very Exciting Future

Ultimately, the main problem with continuing The Conjuring franchise past the fourth movie is that Warner Bros. has such an interesting slate of upcoming releases that deserve time and financing. While this series has clearly peaked and reached a suitable endpoint, upcoming movies like The Mummy and The Bride represent a new direction for the popular studio within the horror genre.

It was recently announced that James Wan, who serves as a producer on The Conjuring movies, will be returning to the Saw franchise following a major negotiation with Blumhouse Productions. This recent Saw deal with Blumhouse is a much better use of Wan’s time than financing another Conjuring movie, especially since that franchise clearly needs a major reboot to get back on track.

Warner Bros. is also involved with the production of James Gunn’s new DC Universe, with several exciting projects lined up for the next few years. The Conjuring: Last Rites needs to be the final movie in this long-running franchise to free up space and money for these fresh, original movies that can help the studio build for the future.