After propelling Universal’s petrolhead franchise into the box office stratosphere with Furious 7 earlier this year, director James Wan is returning to his horror roots with The Conjuring 2, which began filming early this morning after a special ceremony.
As revealed by New Line Cinema’s official Twitter page, Wan and his creative team didn’t set things in motion until a genuine priest came in and blessed the film’s set. When you’re dabbling with supernatural entities and forces beyond your control, I guess it’s better to stay on the safe side, right?
Whereas 2014’s Annabelle turned the attention to the film’s nightmare-inducing doll, The Conjuring 2 will bring the stories of real-life couple Ed and Lorraine Warren back into the spooky limelight, and it’s understood both Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga will reprise their roles as the experts of all things supernatural. This time around, it’s Frances O’Connor’s desperate mother who will be beleaguered by things that go bump in the night, as she scrambles for a way to protect her daughter from the clutches of evil that stalks the shadows of their abode.
Now that filming has begun in earnest, we can begin mentally preparing ourselves for the horror sequel’s release in June of 2016.
#TheConjuring2 filming began bright and early this morning with a priest blessing the set! pic.twitter.com/nm3jSuOtU3
— New Line Cinema (@NewLine_Cinema) September 22, 2015
As for the actual set-up of The Conjuring 2, James Wan is treating the follow-up as a separate entity in many ways – one which not only features a brand new case, but also take the paranormal action to the shores of England.
The idea of doing another story from their case files just feels very organic. For this next one, it’s set in England and it has a very different vibe than the first movie. It still lives in the same world, but the location and the next case they have, has a different flavor to it. So I’m very excited.
The Conjuring 2 will loom into theaters on June 10, 2016.