As we’ve seen innumerably since Kevin Feige and the Marvel Cinematic Universe changed the face of blockbuster cinema, almost every major studio in Hollywood has tried on at least one occasion to launch an interconnected mythology of their own, many of which failed to make it past the first hurdle.
That being said, Warner Bros. have managed to develop and maintain two of them, and while the DCEU has been in a constant state of creative flux dating back years and continues to divide opinion among both fans and critics, The Conjuring Universe is indisputably the most successful horror franchise in the history of cinema, with recent release The Devil Made Me Do It poised to take the cumulative box office earnings past the $2 billion mark.
James Wan may have stepped back from directing duties after helming the first two outings for Ed and Lorraine Warren, but his protege and replacement Michael Chaves was well placed to pick up the reins, having experience with The Conjuring Universe after making his feature debut on The Curse of La Llorona.
However, in a new interview, the filmmaker disputed that it was even part of the interwoven tapestry of terror, despite boasting a couple of direct connections via the appearance of Tony Amendola’s Father Perez and a flashback scene that features haunted doll Annabelle.
“The very simple reason is it was made without one of the producers, so technically it can not be fully embraced. That’s the very simple reason. Originally, there was only supposed to be a playful nod, by putting The Father in and having the Annabelle flash. But it wasn’t supposed to be marketed that way. The plan was, you would get into it, and then it’s like, ‘Oh my God, they’re connected!’. We weren’t, from the beginning, supposed to be doing that. And that’s why it has this outsider status. But as La Llorona is an outsider herself, I think it fits.
It’s a tricky situation, I don’t want to give away any trade secrets. The idea was just to have a playful connection because the myth of La Llorona can stand on its own. But James was on as a producer, the conversation got started about an Easter Egg. It just kind of got away from itself. People loved that connection. But The Conjuring franchise is created by a team that’s been there since the beginning. It’s not really right to do an unofficial spinoff without the full team. It was supposed to be just a wink and a nod.”
Clearly, the marketing department at the studio would disagree with Chaves’ sentiments, but he’s the guy who made the film so it’s not as if we can disregard his opinion on the matter. Still, in the grand scheme of things, The Curse of La Llorona is viewed as part of The Conjuring Universe by audiences and board members alike.
