While the horror genre is currently going through a notable renaissance, one franchise that has seriously benefited is the Conjuring Cinematic Universe. The movies have seriously blossomed since the first Conjuring back in 2013, and with spin-offs like Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, and the upcoming The Nun, it's only getting bigger and bigger. Now it's been confirmed that the growth is set to continue in a big way, as James Wan has confirmed that an Annabelle 3 is now in the works, with writer Gary Dauberman set to make the movie as his directorial debut.
Warner Bros. held a special horror-themed event as part of the first night of San Diego Comic-Con this evening, and one of the big reveals was that Annabelle 3 is now currently coming together -- though James Wan will only serve as a producer, as he has for all of the Conjuring spin-offs to date. Unlike the first two movies, which were both set years before the titular doll wound up in the hands of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the new movie will apparently feature the famed paranormal investigators. Specifically, the story will feature Annabelle in their possession not only torturing their 10-year-old daughter, Judy, but also having an influence on the other cursed objects owned by the Warrens. In fact, she will apparently be able to bring the other evil items to life Night At The Museum-style.
This news will likely not come as a huge surprise to those who have been tracking the success of the Conjuring movies - especially the Annabelle spin-offs. Despite getting not-so-great reviews, the first movie about the cursed doll back in 2014 was an unquestionable hit, ultimately making $257 million worldwide. Even more amazing, the sequel, Annabelle: Creation wound up making even more money when it came out last fall, pulling in over $306 million around the globe. It was basically inevitable that Warner Bros. would eventually greenlight an Annabelle 3, though these details certainly paint a more exciting picture than otherwise would have been anticipated.
At this point, we now just have a lot of questions that don't have official answers. One might guess that this means that Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, the stars of both The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, will be playing key roles in Annabelle 3, but it's unknown at this stage if that is set in stone. This is particularly notable because a Conjuring 3 is currently in the works, and is expected to maintain its two leads. This news certainly suggests that the development of Annabelle 3 will make the interconnective threads within the franchise that much stronger, which could lead to some interesting developments in the future of this series.
Annabelle 3 actually already has a release date, with the film set to come out on July 3, 2019. This presumably means that production will be starting up soon, meaning that we should shortly be hearing some more major announcements. Stay tuned for those on CinemaBlend, along with more of our awesome coverage from San Diego Comic-Con!
