The Conjuring‘s darkest chapter will be told.
As New Line and director Corin Hardy brace for The Nun‘s arrival, Entertainment Weekly has returned from Romania bearing gifts – specifically, a suitably spooky HD pic of Bonnie Aarons’ apparition casting a shadow over Sister Irene.
She’s the young, wide-eyed protagonists of The Nun and, in what can be seen as a prime example of keeping things in the Conjuring family, will be played by Taissa Farmiga, sister of Vera Farmiga, whose paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren quickly established herself as a pillar of this most terrifying shared universe.
For Sister Irene, in particular, Farmiga (Taissa, not Vera) offered some insight into her reserved character via EW:
She had a difficult and isolating childhood. She experienced these visions that set her apart from her peers and eventually led her to a life in the church.
On the other side of the lens, Corin Hardy’s primary concern was ensuring that Bonnie Aarons would reprise her demonic ghost from The Conjuring 2, as he can think of no one more suited to the role of Valak:
When I got The Nun, I called up New Line and was like, ‘We have secured the actress that plays the Nun, right?’ Even in the short space of time she was on screen [in The Conjuring 2], she owns that role in the same way that Robert Englund owns Freddy [Krueger].
Joining Aarons and Farmiga for this horror prequel are the Oscar-nominated Demian Bichir (Alien: Covenant) as Father Burke, Jonas Bloquet as local villager Frenchie, Charlotte Hope as Sister Victoria and, finally, Ingrid Bisu as Sister Oana. Will they, too, fall victim to Valak’s curse? Time will tell.
The Nun delivers a potent blast of unholy terror on September 7th.