For the first time since 2016’s The Conjuring 2, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga will return to the roles of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Annabelle 3, due next summer, is the first of The Conjuring spinoffs to feature the series’ leads.
Now, just a few weeks after The Nun repeated the first Annabelle’s critical failure/box office smash blueprint, Deadline revealed that not only will Annabelle be the first in the series to receive a third entry, but it will be the first spinoff to bring back the characters of Ed and Lorraine. The evil doll’s trilogy-capper will also be franchise veteran Gary Dauberman’s directorial debut.
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The full capacity to which Wilson and Farmiga will appear in the untitled third film is yet to be seen, but the report describes their roles as supporting. The article also featured a brief plot description, teasing that it will focus on The Haunting of Hill House’s Mckenna Grace as Ed and Lorraine’s daughter Judy.
According to the description, “Annabelle 3, the sixth title in The Conjuring franchise, picks up with the Warrens bringing the Annabelle doll to a place where she can no longer wreak havoc: their Artifacts Room. Annabelle awakens the room’s evil, which sets its sights on a new target: the Warrens’ ten year old daughter Judy. The young girl along with her babysitter (Judy’s teenage cousin) and cousin’s friend square off against the evil doll.”
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The film is set to release on July 3, 2019, which the studio has held for a Conjuring film since last April. Most assumed it would turn out to be a spinoff about The Crooked Man, a villain who appeared in The Conjuring 2. Crooked Man-related news has been relatively quiet since its announcement last June. The Conjuring 3, however, is set to start production next year.
The untitled third Annabelle film is written and directed by Gary Dauberman and stars Mckenna Grace and Madison Iseman. James Wan, who directed both core Conjuring entries, will produce. It releases July 3, 2019.