How 'The Nun' Fits in 'The Conjuring' Universe

The trend of movies connecting into a shared cinematic universe continues in terrifying fashion with The Nun, as Corin Hardy's new horror film ties tightly into the Conjuring universe.

While crafting what turns out to be the origin story for the big screen horror world, Hardy also wanted to make his own unique film. Speaking to ComicBook.com at a press event for The Nun, Hardy opened up about the process of tying his film back to the original Conjuring movies, as seen in the video above!

"It was in the script and it was part of the plan from James Wan and Gary [Dauberman], who had written the movie that I then got the opportunity to come aboard to feed into it and direct," Hardy said. "It was definitely an organic process that we knew how we wanted to connect back into that Conjuring universe. We also came up with new ideas while we were shooting. I felt it important to respect what James had done in the Conjuring world and I wasn't trying to go crazy in a different direction but what was nice is the direction that was already laid out was this fresh, different type of story for a Conjuring movie."

While The Nun does a great job of making its environment a character within itself as previous Conjuring efforts have, it also expands the universe outside of the confines of a single location.

"It wasn't a family in jeopardy in a house with this possession," Hardy said. "It was this slightly more sprawling journey into the unknown, mysterious, adventure story. I think it was like what I loved as a kid, reading in a story book, or the movies I grew up watching, these gothic horrors, classic horror movies."

As with all horror films, The Nun is out to terrorize its audience and does just that. Jump scares and tense moments are delivered by the dozen.

"You're trying to always keep people uneasy, unsure whether something is gonna come out of the darkness or not. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't," Hardy said. "It's something which James and I talked about a lot. Some movies do this very well. They don't cut. It's not a series of fast cuts. It's all gonna happen in the same frame which takes a bit of planning."

In this case, Hardy chose to use several wrap-around shots to build the environment and keep audiences guessing. It's a similar method to Wan's continuous shots which explore a house in a single take but with Hardy's creative stamp.

"We use a steadycam in some shots. We use a crane in some shots. It's a timing thing," Hardy said. "You want the audience to feel the environment and become part of that frame long enough to forget that they're watching a movie. Gradually, we're gonna reveal maybe something's gonna be in the frame with you."

The Nun hits theaters on Sept. 6, 2018.