The wildly popularThe Conjuringhorror franchise is getting series treatment at Warner Bros. for Max, their newly combined streaming service.
The Conjuringhorror universe, based on the reportedly real-life research and experience of parapsychologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, includes several box office high-performing films, includingThe Conjuring(2013),The Conjuring 2(2016), andThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It(2021). It also includes threeAnnabellefilms,The Curse of La Llorona, andThe Nun, which will receive a second installment later this year. Collectively, thehorrorfranchise has grossed over $2 billion.
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Warner Bros. Discovery announced aConjuring series created by Peter Safran is in the works with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Television. James Wan, who directed the first two films in the franchise, is currently in talks to executive produce the series, which will “continue the story established in the feature films.”The Conjuringfranchise series opens up the possibility of digging deeper into thelore and legends of Ed and Lorraine’s research into the paranormal, which was first captured in Jay Anson’s novelThe Amityville Horror, which spawned a successful 1979 film of the same name, putting the Warrens on the map as experts in things that go bump in the night. Their characters in the recent films, portrayed by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, and their experiences and collection of occult objects, make the lore of the film franchise rich and deep.
The Conjuringworld seems perfect for episodic horror devoted to various frightful stories. The recent successes of horror-based series likeFX’sAmerican Horror Storiesand series based around other popular horror franchises like Peacock’s upcomingFriday the 13thprequel,Crystal Lake, have shown that horror audiences enjoy longer format content, either in longer arcs or episodic format. The series has the potential to build on several curiosities spotted in the Warrens' household museum of spooky curiosities that were only glimpsed in other films.
No word yet on who might flesh out the cast of this interesting series project, but it may build on the Warrens themselves, perhaps in younger form, charting their beginnings and the story of their collections and records. Audiences are eager to learn more about new occult dangers and revisit some familiar ones, so the show will likely be a draw with audiences whoflock to see everyConjuringmovie.
