“The Conjuring: The Last Rites” is the final film where Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga appear as Ed and Lorraine Warren but they won’t be facing off with the demon nun Valek but instead a real life case the couple investigated from the 1980s…
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have already said goodbye to playing Ed and Lorraine Warren in “The Conjuring” universe after they wrapped up production for the final film in the franchise titled “The Conjuring: The Last Rites.”
But while filming was already completed, the duo who have been working together playing the real-life paranormal investigators for the past 12 years, are just now starting to promote the movie that’s due out on September 5. While it’s tough to say goodbye, Wilson and Farmiga both agreed that it was time for them to leave the franchise, which started out as a low-risk gamble by the studio after investing $5 million in the first film directed by James Wan that went onto earn $265 million at the box office.
Now Wilson and Farmiga are about to star in the fourth “Conjuring” film together with the entire universe spawning numerous spinoffs including several “Annabelle” films about the cursed doll from the original movies as well as two separate sequels about the demon Nun known as Valak.
“There’s only so many times you can say, ‘This is the worst case we’ve ever had!'” Wilson told EW when addressing his final appearance in the franchise.
“My rosary literally busted apart,” Farmiga added “The beads were like, ‘Girl, we’re out of here!’ I think we’ve done as much as we can do for this.”
While longtime fans of the franchise wondered if a teaser from “The Nun II” that involved a phone call made to Ed and Lorraine Warren during a mid-credits scene might actually tease what’s happening in this final film, director Michael Chaves confirms that’s not the plan for “The Conjuring: The Last Rites.”
He revealed that Sister Irene — played by Farmiga’s real life sister Taissa Farmiga is not going to appear in the film, which means the story from “The Nun II” won’t continue in “The Conjuring: The Last Rites.”
Instead, the fourth film in the series is tackling a famous case that involved the Warrens from the 1980s when they investigated the Smurl family haunting. It’s a case that made a lot of headlines with members of the Smurl family actually appearing on several prominent talk shows during that time with Ed and Lorraine Warren actually getting involved as well.
Here’s a synopsis of the Smurl family haunting from the New England Society of Psychic Research — the actual company now ran by the Warrens’ daughter Judy and her husband Tony.
“From 1974 to 1987, the Smurls claim they were at the mercy of ghosts. After flood damage forced them from their Wilkes-Barre home, Janet and Jack Smurl, along with their young daughters and Jack’s parents, moved into a Chase Street duplex in West Pittson, Pennsylvania. A bit of a fixer-upper, they put their efforts into repainting, retooling, and repairs. It was at this time that the eerie activity began.
“Terrified, the Smurls contacted Ed and Lorraine Warren. After inspecting the house, Lorraine Warren, a clairvoyant with several well-known paranormal investigations under her belt, concluded that the Smurls shared their home with four spirits: a harmless elderly woman, a young and possibly violent girl, a man who suffered and died in the home, and a demon that used the other three spirits to destroy the Smurl family.”
After a slight diversion in storytelling for “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” — the third film in the series that played out more like a murder mystery than an investigation into a possible possession/exorcism — the producers behind the series wanted to return to a more traditional format for the final film involving Wilson and Farmiga.
“It is one of the more Googleable ones,” producer Peter Safran said about the choice to use the Smurl family haunting for this film. “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 story picks up five years after the events of “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” with Ed Warren now retired after having a heart attack and opting out of the exorcism business. Instead, he and his wife now work the university circuit, giving speeches and meeting with students but they are soon drawn back into the family business when the Smurl family makes national headlines.
“We’ve known about this one for a long time,” Wilson said about the choice for the final film. “Then writers are playing around with how it affects the family and what’s going on in the family’s life. That’s where we can really theatricalize it. We’re not making a documentary.”
While this is the final time that Wilson and Farmiga are slated to appear in “The Conjuring” universe, the overall franchise isn’t coming to an end because a TV series is already in the works with more spinoff films expected as well.
But this version of Ed and Lorraine Warren will officially say goodbye with “The Conjuring: The Last Rites” when the film opens in September.
