Michael Chaves may be directing The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, but the entire shared horror universe is most definitely James Wan’s baby. After helming Frank and Lorraine Warren’s first two big screen adventures, the Aquaman director was forced to take a step back on the third installment as he instead focused on his upcoming original project Malignant.
The 43 year-old is still keeping it all in the family, though, with Chaves having previously tackled spinoff The Curse of La Llorona. But after seven movies and almost $2 billion in box office takings, The Conjuring Universe is firmly established as the biggest brand in horror and Wan has been the creative driving force since the very beginning.
As well as directing The Conjuring and its sequel, the Saw co-creator also co-wrote the second movie and produced the Annabelle trilogy, The Nun and The Curse of La Llorona. Wan might not be as heavily involved in The Devil Made Me Do It as he was with the first two, but clearly he still has a huge part to play in the continuing success of the sprawling franchise.
In a recent interview, the Furious 7 director and producer of the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot opened up about the upcoming threequel and admitted that it was a bittersweet experience to see someone else step behind the camera for a Conjuring movie, even if it was his protege.
“Working with Michael Chaves on La Llorona, I saw a filmmaker that really gets these kinds of films. It’s bittersweet for me to pass the baton on, but it’s good to get a fresh take on where we can take the Conjuring Universe.”
Wan’s assured touch and familiarity with the source material will definitely be missed when The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It hits theaters next year. After all, his two entries into the franchise hold the best critical reviews out of the entire seven-film series, while Chaves’ The Curse of La Llorona is widely regarded as one of the weakest.