The upcoming and highly anticipated final chapter for Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Conjuring: Last Rites, is now much clearer, with Entertainment Weekly recently unveiling a collection of striking first-look images and extensive new details directly from the cast and creators. In addition, a new social media tease reveals some footage of the upcoming movie. The fourth mainline Conjuring film, slated to haunt theaters on September 5th, is being unequivocally framed as an emotional “end of an era” for Patrick Wilson’s Ed and Vera Farmiga’s Lorraine, marking the culmination of their incredible 12-year journey as the iconic paranormal investigators. The fresh insights underscore a deeply personal narrative for the Warrens, prominently featuring their now-adult daughter, Judy (Mia Tomlinson), and tackling the chilling, real-life Smurl family haunting. As the promotional materials begin to surface, it’s clear this farewell will lean heavily on the powerful bond between its lead actors, a connection that has been the bedrock of the franchise’s enduring appeal.
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“There’s only so many times you can say, ‘This is the worst case we’ve ever had!’” Wilson candidly remarked, reflecting on the intense scenarios his character has faced over the years. Farmiga shared a similar sentiment about reaching this concluding point in their characters’ exhaustive battles against the supernatural. “My rosary literally busted apart,” Farmiga said. “The beads were like, ‘Girl, we’re out of here!’ I think we’ve done as much as we can do for this.” However, while they are ready to say goodbye to The Conjuring franchise, the departure is bittersweet. “I’m going to miss Patrick most of all,” Farmiga confessed. “I mean, not really. He’s reachable within seconds on text. But I’ll miss him as a fun scene partner who totally understands my kind of neurology, who vibes with my brain in a way. I love that guy. I’m so blessed to have had him by my side. He made all of these life-zapping, exhausting exorcisms feel like a family barbecue.”
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“I think that’s why when you say, ‘Can you imagine it being over?’ I actually can’t imagine it really because of her,” Wilson shared. “It really meant the world to me. I didn’t think we’d be doing this for 12, 13 years… I get emotional. I can’t imagine not doing a movie with her.” This mutual admiration is precisely what franchise architect James Wan believes is the core of The Conjuring‘s success. “The beating heart of this franchise is Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson playing Ed and Lorraine,” Wan stated. “The family dynamic, the faith the characters have, and the faith that they have in each other are really the things that drive this particular franchise. I do think that’s what people love about it. At least for me and Peter Safran, it’s really about finding a way to tell the stories of these characters and to wrap them up in a way that feels respectful to where we started with them.”
How Will The Conjuring: Last Rites Wrap Up the Warrens’ Story?
The Conjuring: Last Rites propels the Warrens’ story into 1986, five years after the harrowing events depicted in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The couple has entered a phase of semi-retirement, a decision largely influenced by Ed’s serious heart condition. They’ve scaled back their active paranormal investigations, primarily engaging with the public through university lectures. Unfortunately, evil never rests, and the Warrens will be pulled back into the fight against supernatural threats.
“Ed got pretty beat up in the third one, so I honestly didn’t want to be on death’s door for this movie,” Wilson explained. “First of all, there’s no reason to be — he lived another 25 years… But retirement was interesting to me. It was important to show the skeptics. We’re not in the middle of Amityville, when [hauntings were] everywhere. What is it like when they’re not playing to big crowds? What does that do to them?” This quieter existence is dramatically shattered when they are inevitably drawn into one last terrifying ordeal: the widely publicized Smurl family haunting. This real-life case saw Janet and Jack Smurl (portrayed in the film by Rebecca Calder and Elliot Cowan, respectively) and their family, including their young daughters and Jack’s parents, tormented by a series of escalating supernatural phenomena that captured national attention.
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“It is one of the more Googleable ones,” producer Safran noted. “It really fit the bill for us, being able to lean into something that audiences could go and Google after the movie. ‘Oh! They really did have that many children.’ ‘Oh! They really were this age, and the grandparents really were there.’ All of that stuff has always been meaningful to us.” The film also introduces a grown-up Judy Warren, now in her 20s, who brings her boyfriend, Tony Spera (Ben Hardy), into the Warrens’ unique world for the first time just as these new horrors unfold.
“I think it’s a more interesting and a more real take [on] what it’s like to grow up the daughter of the Warrens,” director Michael Chaves offered regarding the depiction of adult Judy. “What is it like when you are living with an artifact room that is filled with demonic items? How hard is that? What impact does that leave on a person’s life?” Farmiga provided further insight into Judy’s inherited sensitivities and her pivotal role within the family. “Lorraine’s got this full-bar wifi of clairvoyance, and there’s a bar or two that start popping up for Judy,” Farmiga revealed. “She’s obviously inherited this spiritual sensitivity and, of course, it deepens Lorraine’s concerns, not just as a mother, but as someone who really understands the burden of those sensibilities…. Judy has been the quiet force right behind everything that Lorraine does. She’s the light. She’s the reason that Lorraine still fights when she feels like there’s nothing left to give.”
“They’re going to witness a moment in the Warrens’ lives — and a pretty profound moment,” Farmiga teased about the film’s emotional core. “It’s a moment that makes time stand still. This one’s different than the others. The other three were about hauntings, and this one is about reckoning, in a way.” Adding to the intrigue, the first-look images also hint at flashback sequences featuring younger versions of Ed and Lorraine (played by Orion Smith and Madison Lawlor) and, perhaps more chillingly, visions of what appear to be “twisted doppelgangers” of the Warrens, seen grinning maniacally. “Whether it’s dealing with mortality or dealing with where they are at the end of their career, you’re forced to look in the mirror,” Wilson commented on these thematic elements. “Who’s on the other side may not be the most pleasant. Those are themes we definitely explore.”
The Conjuring: Last Rites arrives in theaters on September 5th. While a Max drama series set within The Conjuring universe is confirmed to be in development, this installment is firmly positioned as the concluding cinematic chapter for Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s portrayals of Ed and Lorraine Warren. As Farmiga herself declared, “It is the end of the road. It’s got to be the end of the road… It is time to trade her clairvoyance in for crossword puzzles. She’s going to take up some tai chi. They’re going to Turks and Caicos, baby, and so am I.”
How do you feel about saying farewell to Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the Warrens? Share your favorite Conjuring Universe memories in the comments!
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