We’ve seen many film franchises try to launch cinematic universes in the last decade, but few have been as immensely successful as what has been built with The Conjuring Universe, which includes some of the best horror movies of all time. The ball started rolling in 2013 with the massively successful James Wan film that gave the brand its name, and while there weren’t really initial ambitions to create something bigger, everything changed when John Leonetti’s Annabelle turned into a $250 million global hit one year later. Since then the spooky world has grown and grown, and as of 2023 it has nine titles in canon.
With all that growth can come a little confusion, however, as each new release is set in a different time period and has specific connections to previous stories. It’s in aim of eliminating that confusion that we’ve built this feature. In hopes of helping fans fully grasp the breadth of The Conjuring Universe, we’ve put together this timeline to both linearly illustrate the events we’ve seen so far, and show how the titles link to one another. So without further ado, let’s start at the start by taking a step back in time to the 1950s…
The Nun
Setting: 1952
While there are scenes in other Conjuring Universe titles that take place before it, Corin Hardy’s The Nun is featured first on the timeline because the primary events in the story take place before all of the other narratives in the franchise – specifically taking us back to the year 1952. It was at this time that Father Burke (Demian Bichir) and Sister Irene (Tessa Farmiga) were sent by the Vatican to Romania in hopes of uncovering the details behind the mysterious suicide of a nun. Unfortunately for them, it led to a direct confrontation with the demon known as Valek (Bonnie Aarons), and while they were ultimately able to escape with their lives, the events also saw the horrifically evil entity let loose on the world.
Being set so early on the timeline and taking place in Eastern Europe, The Nun isn’t as directly tied into the events of The Conjuring Universe as many of the other movies, but it does feature some key details. Not only does it show us the origins of the main villain from The Conjuring 2, but it also provides an interesting link to one of the Warrens’ most dangerous cases, as seen in The Conjuring.
Annabelle Creation
Setting: 1955
As the name of the film implies, David F. Sandberg’s Annabelle Creation is designed as an origin story for its titular character, literally showing how the seriously creepy porcelain toy came into existence. Technically it all kicks off in 1943, as that was when doll maker Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia) first designed Annabelle for his daughter (Samara Lee), but the majority of the story takes place in 1955 – which is when Samuel and his wife Esther (Miranda Otto) agreed to take in the children from a shuttered orphanage, as well as their caretaker Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman). It was at this time that the doll not only started to get stronger, but also took its first victims.
This is obviously a table-setter for all of Annabelle’s adventures in The Conjuring Universe so far, showing how she first became possessed and the initial efforts that were taken to contain her power. And while those efforts were successful for a while, it took about 12 years for her special brand of chaos to be one again unleashed upon the world.
The Nun II
Setting: 1956
Set a year after Annabelle Creation but featuring absolutely zero connections to it (in part because it is set an ocean away), The Nun II is a direct follow-up to The Nun and follows the further adventures of Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) and Maurice “Frenchie” Theriault (Jonas Bloquet). Since the two parted ways after seemingly defeating Valak (Bonnie Aarons) in Romania, Maurice has unknowingly been the source of a plague stretching across Europe. Not knowing that her old friend is the cause, Sister Irene is sent to investigate a series of mysterious deaths that Maurice has left in his wake, leading them to reunite at an all-girls boarding school in Aix-en-Provence, France.
The ending of The Nun II doesn't quite work within the continuity of The Conjuring Universe, as it acts to disrupt the link between The Nun and The Conjuring mentioned earlier, but the mid-credits scene in the film, according to director Michael Chaves, is meant to ensure fans that the filmmakers have not forgotten about the Maurice's dark fate.
Annabelle
Setting: 1967
Despite Annabelle’s very small role in The Conjuring, audiences quickly fell in love with her, and Warner Bros. acted quickly to take advantage of that affection. But with the movie having already established how she ended up in the possession of Ed and Loraine Warren, the first Annabelle spin-off had to find a different story to tell –which is why it wound up being set in 1967. Inspired by the cult murders of the era, specifically the actions of the Manson family, it tells a rather self-contained tale about the terrors that the titular doll can induce, specifically torturing a couple of new parents (Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton) who wind up with her in their possession.
Despite being the first of its own series, John Leonetti’s Annabelle is arguably best seen as a middle chapter sandwiched between Annabelle Creation and Annabelle Comes Home. Its connections to the rest of the Conjuring Universe are minimal, but it does fill a key gap in the timeline between Annabelle’s “birth” and her time in the hands of the Warrens.
Annabelle Comes Home
Setting: 1970
The central premise of Gary Dauberman’s Annabelle Comes Home is very much tied into where it takes place on The Conjuring Universe timeline. Specifically, the story takes place on the night that Ed and Loraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) bring the titular doll back to their house so that it can be contained in their occult museum. With what we already know about the Warrens relationship with Annabelle, this pins it right before the main events of The Conjuring, hence its placement here in this feature.
Taking things a step further, it’s even easier to specifically place Annabelle Comes Home because it’s a story that doesn’t exactly stretch out for weeks/months on end. Instead, the action will be taking place over the course of a single night, as young Judy Warren (Mckenna Grace), her babysitter (Madison Iseman), and her babysitter’s friend (Katie Sarife) try and survive the terror that Annabelle unleashes while being surrounded by the Warrens’ huge collection of terrifying objects.
The Conjuring
Setting: 1971
Now we get to the film that started it all – and it’s a pretty easy one to explain timeline-wise. James Wan’s The Conjuring is a straight-forward horror flick when it comes to narrative, as while there are references to events in the past, as well as the aforementioned introduction of Annabelle, most of the movie takes place within the span of a few weeks in the year 1971.
As for its relationship with the rest of The Conjuring Universe, there aren’t many connections to mention that haven’t already been established – though it is worth recognizing that Ed and Loraine Warren aren’t exactly amateurs at the start of this story. As a result, it’s entirely possible that future chapters of this franchise could be set both before and after the events in this movie – it all just depends on the stories that the filmmakers are interested in telling.
The Curse Of La Llorona
Setting: 1973
Michael Chaves’ The Curse Of La Llorona is not as tied into the rest of the franchise, but it does have a specific tie to Annabelle via the involvement of Father Perez (Tony Amendola), and the movie features a title card in the first act that confirms that the events take place in the year 1973.
Unlike The Nun or Annabelle movies, The Curse Of La Llorona is not a spin-off from any specific title, and with the exception of the presence of Father Perez is doesn’t actually have any other Easter eggs. If you’re watching these films chronologically, you can really watch this one any time after Annabelle and not get confused by how it fits into the grand scheme of things, but it's always more fun to go perfectly in order.
The Conjuring 2
Setting: 1977
You may not totally sense it from the development of the characters between movies, but there is a full six years between the events of James Wan’s The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2. The film opens in 1976,– specifically with the paranormal investigating duo looking into the notorious events in Amityville, New York. But the majority of the narrative takes them to 1977 England where they look into the case of the Enfield Poltergeist.
Much like its direct predecessor, elements of The Conjuring 2 have been expanded through spin-offs, most notably The Nun, and it makes for an interesting viewing experience knowing the background material provided by the other titles. So if you’re planning on doing a chronological run through The Conjuring Universe the next time you decide to revisit the franchise, you may find that certain details come across a bit differently by the time that you get to the main series' first sequel.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
Setting: 1981
Because of the inspiration taken from the lives of Ed and Loraine Warren, it may be a minute before we get to see a contemporary movie set in The Conjuring Universe, so right now the last title on the timeline is Michael Chaves' The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The movie is the first in the franchise to broach the 1980s, which was a time when the Warrens became famous and were brought in for input by the police on criminal cases. That's reflected in this sequel, which changes things up from the haunted house subgenre and is more driven by an investigation.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is based on the real case of Arne Johnson, who was the first person in the history of the United States' criminal system to enter a plea of innocent due to demonic possession. The movie begins with an exorcism performed by the Warrens that goes horribly wrong, as a demon makes its way from a child into Johnson – and in the aftermath of the incident, he winds up murdering his landlord. In order to try and prove the accused's innocence, the paranormal investigators search for the origins of the whole mess.
This covers everything that we’ve seen from The Conjuring Universe so far, but there is still a bright future ahead for the demon-filled series, with announced projects like The Conjuring: Last Rites and The Crooked Man. You can be sure that we here on CinemaBlend will be following them all very closely, so be sure to stay tuned for all the latest details.
