"Scripting the Story: The Conjuring Universe"

Good day CrewMembers, and thank you for joining us as we unravel The Conjuring Universe!

The purpose of "Scripting the Story" is to help you unravel franchises that have taken some turns and can be very confusing if you just watch them from beginning to end. Here, we try to guide you as to what movies can make a more or less coherent story line.

MARVEL and Harry Potter aren't the only cinematic universes out there! For years, James Wan and Warner Bros quietly put together an incredibly successful cinematic horror universe based around the real life cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Our goal today is to show you the different paths through this universe and maybe connect a piece or two that you didn't even know was there!

The franchise started off in 2013 with The Conjuring we are first introduced to a doll that hosts a demonic spirit that has taken the name Annabelle. However, she is not the focus of this case at all. Instead the movie focuses on the Warren's investigation of a farmhouse in Rhode Island and the family being tormented there.

The first direct sequel, The Conjuring 2, introduces more characters that will expand the universe even further but the focus here is again another family being tormented in their home. This time the backdrop is international as the Warrens end up in London.

The current finale in the Conjuring Trilogy is 2021's The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It which shifts the focus from haunted house to good old fashion possession.

Together, these movies form a pretty tight horror trilogy.

Annabelle

As we mentioned above, The Conjuring is the first appearance of the craziest possessed doll since Charles Lee Ray voodoo'ed himself into a Good Guy Doll (aka Chucky). While the movies bearing Conjuring in the title are based on Warren case files, the spin-offs are crafted with original story lines. In Annabelle's case, her introduction in The Conjuring is true to the case files, but her solo franchise is all new.

Annabelle was the first movie to spin off from a Conjuring title and serves as a prequel to her appearance in the movie. Her first solo sequel, Annabelle: Creation, which as the title probably suggests, is a prequel to Annabelle. The third move in her trilogy, Annabelle Comes Home, is a direct sequel to her appearance in The Conjuring.

With Prequels and Sequels, you know there are multiple ways to watch, and if you've read any of our "Scripting the Story" posts before, you know we always recommend release order first:

For those that prefer to dive in Chronologically, follow this path:

We are going to mention another timeline, that may have some spoiler implications. If you want to go into these movies with the least amount of info possible, you can JUMP this next part. For reference though, we aren't giving away anything beyond what the trailers showed.

---Added Space to help those who want to avoid the next timeline---

Warren Quadrilogy

C1-Comes Home-C2-C3

You may or may not have inferred from the title Annabelle Comes Home, that the story takes place in the Warren's own Occult Museum inside their home. While Ed and Lorraine are not the focus of this movie, they are part of the plot and do appear in it. If you want the full Warren Story to this point, you can certainly add this one in after The Conjuring.

---Added Space to help those who want to avoid the previous timeline---

The Nun

The Conjuring 2 introduced a bunch of fun characters, one of whom already has their own spin-off franchise. Like Annabelle, the Nun character was introduced in the opening investigation. Taking further cues from her fellow Demon, the Nun's first movie The Nun is a prequel to her original appearance.

Editor's Note: As of writing, and honestly the prompt for writing this feature, The Nun II has been officially announced as the next feature in the Conjuring Universe.

Even with just two movies to her credit, there are two ways to watch the Nun spin offs:

Nun Release

And of course:

La Llorona

This stand alone feature isn't really a spin off from any of the previous movies. In fact, at the beginning of its pre-release marketing, no one really knew if it was a Conjuring Movie at all. Eventually the campaign changed that and let everyone know this story has a home within the Conjuring Universe. As not spinning directly off from other movies, you can watch this one on its own. However, if you have seen the other movies, there are some cool connective tissues within it that you'll pick up on.

Short Films

In 2017, James Wan (Creator/Writer/Director/Producer of the CU) and Warner Bros held a contest in conjunction with the release of Annabelle Creation. 5 short films from around the world were chosen as films that "feel like (they) could exist within the established Conjuring world." These movies then became part of the official universe and can be found on YouTube. While one film name drops the Warrens, there are no direct connections to other movies. They do help add to the overall experience of the universe.

If you're checking these out on YouTube, please note that other submissions for the contest have been posted by their creators as well. But, only these 5 are official canon.

Now that you know all the ingredients, let's make the soup!

The chronology of the Short Films is based purely on our "feel" for where they would go. We tried to base them on what is seen in the film, but truthfully we are just guessing.

As mentioned above, The Nun II has been announced as the next official release in the Conjuring Universe, so we'll most likely be updating this post in 2023!

~Until then; enjoy the show!