We Have Yet To Truly See The Key Moment The Entire Conjuring Universe Is Built Around
When taken together as a whole, the various movies included within the confines of The Conjuring Universe are clearly building towards something. While the spin-off films "Annabelle" and "The Nun" (and even "The Curse of La Llorona," to a certain extent) have fleshed out the origins of demonic entities that factored into the mainline movies starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, they've also created a sense of momentum that the franchise is steadily moving forward to a grand and epic climax of sorts. But even as fans can't help but look ahead to what's coming next, the release of "The Nun II" this weekend (check out my review here) further emphasizes the fact that we've yet to see one incredibly crucial moment that's been teased ever since the first "The Conjuring" in 2013.
Of the many twists and turns featured in 2018's prequel/spin-off "The Nun," arguably the biggest was saved for last. In the concluding moments, it was revealed that the supporting character of Frenchie (played by Jonas Bloquet) was actually the same character known by the name of Maurice Theriault whom Ed and Lorraine once performed an exorcism on — one that went horribly wrong. Haunted by visions of the killer nun Valak and premonitions of the death of her husband, this traumatizing event put Lorraine in a catatonic state for more than a week, as explained and ultimately resolved in "The Conjuring 2." But other than brief flashbacks of that incident and the lecture the Warrens would later give to a crowd of eager students, Maurice's actual exorcism has hung heavy over the events of "The Nun" and its sequel.
In an interview with "The Nun II" director Michael Chaves, the filmmaker told /Film to expect more where that came from.
'The exorcism of Maurice is one of those cornerstone events'
Poor, poor Frenchie. The endearingly out-of-his-depth hero first charmed audiences in "The Nun," saying things like "Holy s***" when confronted by the holy relic containing the blood of Christ and generally acquitting himself as precisely the kind of well-meaning, ever-capable dude you'd want to have in your corner when hunted by a demonic nun. Of course, that first film ended with the chilling twist that Valak had now marked him as its chosen vessel, allowing it to escape the trap set by Taissa Farmiga's Sister Irene and live to haunt another day.
In "The Nun II," it's safe to say Frenchie's put through the wringer a bit. /Film's Jacob Hall had the opportunity to talk to director and "The Conjuring" veteran Michael Chaves in a recently published interview, and the director expanded on Frenchie's awfully bleak trajectory and hinted at the idea that, down the line, we may catch up with the pivotal moment when the Warrens find themselves on a violent crash course with a possessed Maurice. Referencing the timeline patiently built throughout both "The Conjuring" and "The Nun" films, Chaves had this to say:
"Definitely the exorcism of Maurice is one of those cornerstone events in the timeline. We see it in the first 'Conjuring,' we see it in the second 'Conjuring' and we know Valak was a part of that and that is something that we know following this throughline with Maurice that it inevitably leads to that."
It's no spoiler to say that "The Nun II" ends with an eye on future installments of the franchise. The only question is, will this thread get picked up in "The Conjuring 4" or a potential "The Nun III"? That remains to be seen.
"The Nun II" is currently playing in theaters.