James Wan Teases First Details About ‘Annabelle 3’

The shared universe of horror films that launched with The Conjuring in 2013 will continue next year with the third film in the Annabelle spin-off series. The previous two Annabelle films took place before the creepy doll’s debut in The Conjuring, though James Wan teased that this new film would take place after she was locked away “safely” in Ed and Lorraine Warren’s room of possessed artifacts.

“Annabelle basically activates all the other haunted artifacts in that room,” Wan revealed at San Diego Comic-Con. “So, it’s basically A Night at the Museum, with Annabelle!”

The Conjuring films are inspired by the real-life investigations conducted by Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. The pair meet the doll in the film’s opening scene after it was reportedly sharing messages with its new owners, leading the Warrens to add the doll to their collections of horrifying objects.

Both Annabelle and Annabelle: Creation depicted the doll’s origins, allowing this new film to potentially tie into the lives of the Warrens more directly.

“I’m still finalizing the script, but it really picks up with the Warrens bringing Annabelle to the place where it can really no longer wreak havoc, which is their artifact room,” writer/director Gary Dauberman shared. “But, of course, it turns out she can also wreak havoc there. And she really awakens the evil within that room and they target the Warrens’ 10-year-old daughter, Judy. So, that’s the set-up.”

The Annabelle films were the first official spin-offs from the Conjuring series, though they won’t be the last.

Landing in theaters on September 7th is The Nun, which is inspired by a demonic entity that plagued Lorraine in The Conjuring 2. The Nun was also written by Dauberman.

Another character from The Conjuring sequel who is reportedly getting their own film is the Crooked Man, based on the English poem which reads, “There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile. /He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile. /He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse. /And they all lived together in a little crooked house.”

The spin-off series might be growing, but fans are still waiting for news on a proper third Conjuring film.

Annabelle 3 will hit theaters on July 3, 2019.

Are you looking forward to this spinoff or would you rather get a third Conjuring film? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T Entertainment Weekly]