The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Director Details the Pressures and Excitement of Joining the Franchise

The release of The Curse of La Llorona back in 2019 came with the surprise reveal that the film connected to The Conjuring franchise, which also paved the way for director Michael Chaves to helm the upcoming The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. While the various spinoffs from the proper series have seen a variety of filmmakers contribute, only James Wan had helmed the adventures that focused specifically on Ed and Lorraine Warren. Chaves noted that being selected by Wan to take over the reins for a new The Conjuring came with both excitement and some unexpected pressure. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It hits theaters and HBO Max on June 4th.

“It was a mix of absolute thrill and absolute terror,” Chaves revealed to ComicBook.com about his reaction to scoring the gig. “I love this series, and I am a huge fan of James. I’m a huge fan of his movies beyond The Conjuring, and I love this franchise. So, coming into it, I took it as, honestly, one of the greatest compliments, the greatest honors, but, without a doubt, huge responsibility.”

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It reveals a chilling story of terror, murder, and unknown evil that shocked even experienced real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. One of the most sensational cases from their files, it starts with a fight for the soul of a young boy, then takes them beyond anything they’d ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.

Chaves also detailed what makes joining a familiar franchise so ambitious, as it requires blending expectations with surprises.

“I think that it’s been interesting and cool to work on La Llorona, which is essentially an original movie based on folklore, and with this, the established characters, established story, each of them requires a different muscle,” the director detailed. “And I think that there’s really benefits of both. There’s something really fun about being able to surprise people, to take people’s expectations, good or bad, and spin it on its head. I think that that’s something that you can do with franchises. Of course, whenever you’re working in a franchise, it’s hard because people love these things. That’s why we keep on making these movies and being able to surprise people, while still honor their expectations, is very tricky. And I think that the few directors who can do that, I have a tremendous amount of respect for them.”

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It hits theaters and HBO Max on June 4th.

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