The Conjuring: Last Rites might be the end of the Warrens, but the Conjuring series can live on without them. The Conjuring franchise has become one of cinema’s biggest horror hits, with the series grossing over $2.6 billion since the first film debuted in 2013. Last Rites carried on that tradition, earning over $300 million already at the box office.

Last Rites is also the end of the line for series stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, whose Ed and Lorraine retire and get a happy ending. With New Line already planning “phase 2” of The Conjuring series, it’s exciting to imagine where the series could go from here — especially if it resists bringing back the Warrens.

The Conjuring Movies Shouldn’t Revisit The Warrens So Soon

The Conjuring franchise is looking ahead to a wide-open future after Last Rites, but the franchise should resist the urge to revisit the Warrens again so quickly after bidding farewell to Ed and Lorraine. The Warrens were the main characters of the core Conjuring series, starring in four films and appearing in spin-offs like Annabelle Comes Home.

Last Rites was billed as the conclusion of their story, with the film even ending on a peaceful epilogue that lays out their retirement and eventual deaths. The movie doesn’t really leave much room for them to return outside of brief supporting roles in future movies, removing them from active investigations into paranormal occurrences.

However, the mammoth success of Last Rites left audiences wondering if the Warrens could make a return in the future. Even if there isn’t a direct sequel, The Conjuring series could do a prequel about younger versions of Ed and Lorraine, especially after Madison Lawlor and Orion Smith did good work as younger versions of those characters in Last Rites.

That would be detrimental to the Conjuring franchise, however. The Warrens getting their send-off in Last Rites felt fitting for the characters, reinforcing the themes of the series as a whole while letting them go up against one last demonic force. Bringing them back would undercut the sweet conclusion that Last Rites brought them.

Prequels are also an inherently tricky proposition. The stakes are reduced by the simple reality that audiences know the main characters have to survive to appear in future storylines. Audiences have already seen their full arcs, so there isn’t much new ground to explore with the couple.

While a film focused on how Ed and Lorraine met or established themselves could be interesting, it would ultimately feel like exploring well-trodden ground, given that the franchise has shown the Warrens at numerous highs and lows. Simply put, Ed and Lorraine feel complete as characters and don’t need to come back.

The Conjuring Movies Need To Expand (And Spin-Offs Could Be The Key)

That’s not to say the Conjuring movies have to go away at all. In fact, the series has already proven how it can survive and thrive without Ed and Lorraine. Focusing on Judy is always an option for filmmakers, but even that might be too close to the Warrens and their happy ending to revisit so soon after Last Rites.

The future of The Conjuring series should look to successes like Annabelle and The Nun films, which highlight how a shared horror universe can work with more than just singular heroes or common threats in every story. Those spin-offs introduced new characters, went to different time periods, and focused on unique settings.

The result is a franchise that feels broad in a way that could generate endless stories. Without the Warrens as the singular anchor of the series, the franchise could expand to hauntings and stories that didn’t involve them. This could allow future Conjuring movies to focus on different types of demons and exorcists alike.

There are plenty of ghost stories from around the world that could serve as inspiration for compelling Conjuring movies. This could even allow the series to hop to the present day, cementing a connection between modern characters and the legacy of the Warrens (even after their deaths).

This could allow The Conjuring movies of the future to follow The Nun and go international, or take cues from Annabelle and focus on the artifacts that the Warrens collected over the years. A new Conjuring movie could even completely move to a different country or style of protagonist, maintaining the vibes of the series but with a fresh core.

Any of the ghosts and demons briefly seen in Annabelle Comes Home could become the focal point of a Conjuring spin-off, with the added benefit of having less established characters involved. This naturally raises the stakes in effective ways that would benefit any new horror film, instead of returning to characters whom audiences know are safe, like the Warrens.

Last Rites is a fitting farewell for Ed and Lorraine. The series needs to avoid bringing them back if it wants to really carve out a new future for itself. The Conjuring: Last Rites was a perfectly good finale for the Warrens, and the series should let them rest while it moves on to new pastures.