Just when you think you’ve heard it all, you realize once again that Hollywood knows no bounds, other than the ones that it can adapt into a successful franchise: Bounds 2: Bound Harder. The latest micro-implosion involves Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema teaming up to create a spinoff of James Wan’s The Conjuring that focuses solely on the creepy Annabelle doll that appeared in the film’s opening sequence. While there are all kinds of problems with this idea, I’m sure there are quite a few fans out there that are jumping with joy and crapping their pants in fear at the same time.
Nothing is confirmed here, as the news comes from SchmoesKnow, But this is the kind of rumor that if it weren’t true, somebody at Warner or New Line would think, "Say, that’s a pretty good idea," and it would become a reality anyway.
Not only does this project seem to exist, but it’s already got a director in John R. Leonetti, a veteran cinematographer who worked on each of Wan’s films following Saw, though no screenwriter was named. Leonetti’s only other features were also follow-ups, 1997’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and 2006’s The Butterfly Effect 2. One has to assume/hope this Annabelle feature will rank higher than both of those two put together and sprinkled with "better movie dust."
Let’s not forget there’s already an official sequel in the works for The Conjuring, so it’s unclear just how involved the paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga respectively, will fit into Annabelle’s story again, if at all. (You can read all about it here.) If this is a spooky doll origin story, I just might flip my glued-on wig.
And one like myself would argue that there’s no fricking point in creating a movie around the doll’s story, when it was specifically put into the first film as a frightening nod to those familiar with the Warren’s work. It’s beating a dead horse whose death we’ve already witnessed. But it’s obvious why this franchise is being milked dry, as the first film made $316 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. It will no doubt bring in more than Wan’s own evil doll flick, 2007’s awful Dead Silence.
For those wondering, studios will probably soon be making spinoffs about the couch in Paranormal Activity, the yard in House and any of the other priests in The Exorcist who didn’t end up in the McNeil house.
Annabelle’s tale will reportedly go into production in the spring of 2014. Are you guys interested in shelling out more money to watch another possessed item movie? What if Annabelle agreed to go and watch it with you?
