There are few producers or filmmakers in Hollywood as prolific as the incredible James Wan. The man who brought us Saw, Insidious, and of course The Conjuring Universe is hands down one of the most successful names in horror and action that we’ve seen in the past two decades. Now he’s bringing his iconic Conjuring franchise to a close with The Conjuring: Last Rites. And we were lucky enough to join other members of the press in a roundtable discussion with the Atomic Monster mastermind on the final chapter of The Conjuring Universe.
It’s a bittersweet moment for Wan. As the mastermind behind the first Conjuring film and the architect behind the legendary horror universe it spawned, watching the stories of The Warrens coming to a close has proven to be an emotional experience for the filmmaker. Over the last 13 years, Wan has been behind the camera and passed the baton to other filmmakers to put their stamp on this universe. When asked about what that was like, here’s what he had to say:
“I feel like I’ve been doing this for a while now,” Wan stated. “I feel like I’ve been sort of passing the baton to two generations…But, but in terms of the actual franchise I think that was part of the fun…We’ve kind of created the world, the overall world. And, for me, just shaping what I kind of wanted the world to feel like, to be like. And then at some point I just feel like, you know, I can’t and don’t really want to be directing every single one of these movies. And so it’s a great opportunity to find a new filmmaker and up-and-coming filmmakers, and give them the chance to to kind of play in this world. And so it’s been great, and that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing now for, like, the last, nearly last 10 years.”
Last Rites does see the end of Ed and Lorraine Warren’s adventures. However, like Wan himself did, there’s a bit of a torch-passing element to the story from Farmiga and Wilson to Tomlinson and Hardy’s Mia and Tony. When asked about if the adventures could continue via these characters, Wan stated, “I have been asked a little bit in terms of the torch passing. I don’t know… I guess, never say never. The setup and the structure is inherently there. But in terms of, for us right now, at least for me, I’m just really focusing on just kind of putting this last one out there and saying that this is the last one. I mean, I know there’s been talk outside the system and inside of the possibility of a ‘phase two,’ but, but I don’t know…I don’t want to jump the gun, but if there is a ‘phase two,’ something like that, does not seem out of place.”
At the end of the day, The Conjuring movies are based on real people. Ed, Lorraine, and Judy Warren were and are actual individuals and a real family. So it became important for Wan to make sure the core series ended in a way that was a fitting tribute to these real-life figures.
“One of the touchstones with making The Conjuring films, especially…The Conjuring, and not so much the spin offs; we want to try and be as close to the real thing as we can,” stated Wan. “Especially the cases that each individual movie is based on. We want the audience to be able to watch the movie and then go, ‘Oh, that’s crazy. Let me Google this and find out that it’s somewhat true.’ …It’s kind of that…we want elements that we can kind of research and say that these movies [are] ‘based on true lives.’ And so we definitely want to be as true to that as we can. But obviously, you know, we are making entertainment, and we do take liberties…but at the very least, the spirit. We want to be as close to the real people and the real world as close as we can [in spirit].”
With so many true cases and monsters, it’s hard to believe this would be the finale for the franchise. Especially since The Conjuring films, in general, are relatively profitable releases, with lower budgets and a built-in audience. So it sparked a bit of curiosity about why Last Rites would be the final chapter. This was something The Nerds of Color was curious about and was given the opportunity to ask Wan.
“That’s a good question,” stated Wan. “I keep coming back to…all of us from the filmmakers, the studio, and the actors…we feel like we want to go out on a high, you know? We don’t want to be doing this 20 movies down the line, where we’ve driven the franchise into the ground. We love the idea that we’re going out with a big bang….it just feels right. And you know, we’ve been doing this for over 10-12, years. And I think it’s kind of nice to just take a break from it…so, yes, I think that’s more the case to want to go out on a high whilst we’re still on top, so to speak.
“As opposed to why this particular case, it’s actually pretty personal for me. The TV movie that came out in the early 90s called The Haunted, starring Sally Kirkland, was the movie that introduced me to Ed and Lorraine Warren. And it just felt full circle for me to come back and use this particular case as the story to be the last one. It just felt right.”
The final question was raised by our friends over at Dorkaholics. They asked about the importance of the sentimentality within The Conjuring: Last Rites, given this is the final chapter. Wan took his time, before answering, “Obviously it’s a horror movie at the end of the day. And so the scares were important for us. The horror aspects were important for us because it is what people love to a big degree. And this is the fourth movie, and definitely like 9th or 10th in The Conjuring Universe. And so it was important for us to try and find a new flavor within the horror. And that can get tricky…but ultimately, we felt the right thing to do with this last one was doing justice to sending The Warrens off. Saying goodbye to Ed and Lorraine and to Vera and Patrick as well. And we wanted to make sure we captured the emotionality of the family dynamic, which is why bringing Judy and her husband, Tony was so important. It was crucial to wrap up the story for us. We because the emotion and the love that fans have for this cinematic family is very important for us. We just wanted to make sure we did justice to that.”
And indeed, Wan has! The Conjuring: Last Rites closes out the franchise with a great amount of emotion. As the credits roll, you’ll miss The Warrens and their spooky cases. However, as we look forward to the future of horror, we know Wan has changed the game time and time again, and we know whatever he brings us next will have the potential to live up to the highest highs of the most successful horror franchise of all time.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is in theaters now!
