Is The Conjuring: Last Rites the franchise's last installment? Details explored

The Conjuring: Last Rites will be released in theatres on September 5. 2025. The film reunites Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren for what is being marketed as the ninth and final installment in the sprawling Conjuring Universe.

Directed by Michael Chaves and co-written by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, the film is an adaptation of the Warrens' investigation into the notorious Smurl haunting. First released in the Philippines on September 3, 2025, with the U.S. release on September 5, 2025, the film has already raised questions among fans: Is this truly the end of the Conjuring saga?

For more than a decade, the Conjuring movies have dominated the horror box office, with James Wan and Peter Safran constructing a connected cinematic universe that includes spin-offs such as Annabelle, The Nun, and The Curse of La Llorona. Now, with The Conjuring: Last Rites, the series is coming to an end as the film has been marketed as the final chapter by Warner Bros.

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The Conjuring: Last Rites is to be the last chapter in The Conjuring universe

While horror franchises are infamous for revivals, The Conjuring: Last Rites has been presented by Warner Bros. and the filmmakers as the definitive conclusion to the main saga. Director Michael Chaves, who directed The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and The Nun II, has publicly referred to the film as a finale.

In an interview with Slash Film on September 8, 2023, the director said the film brings together storylines from throughout the universe. The Conjuring Universe began in 2013 with The Conjuring and expanded rapidly into nine films, becoming the highest-grossing horror franchise of all time.

In addition to the core trilogy (The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It), the universe consists of three Annabelle films, two Nun films, and The Curse of La Llorona.

The Conjuring: Last Rites is the ninth entry, and it connects back to previous films with cameos from characters such as Carolyn Perron (The Conjuring), Janet Hodgson (The Conjuring 2), and David Glatzel (The Devil Made Me Do It). In many respects, it serves as a nostalgic goodbye, while also upping the stakes with one of the Warrens' most sinister cases to date.

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What is The Conjuring: Last Rites about?

The Conjuring: Last Rites (Image Via Warner Bros.)

The Conjuring: Last Rites centers on the Smurl haunting, a terrifying case from the Warrens' archives involving a Pennsylvania family terrorized by demonic forces over the 1970s and 80s. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as Ed and Lorraine, with Mia Tomlinson as their daughter Judy and Ben Hardy as Judy's boyfriend, Tony Spera.

The film also introduces the Smurl family, played by Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Beau Gadsdon, and others. The plot combines familiar franchise tropes, possessions, exorcisms, and cursed objects with more personal stakes for the Warrens, especially as Judy's role in the story increases.

There's also a sense of culmination: previous characters return, real-life family members, such as the real Judy Warren and Tony Spera, appear in cameos, and even James Wan makes a sneaky uncredited appearance.

Production on The Conjuring: Last Rites started shortly after the release of The Devil Made Me Do It in 2021, with early rumors that a fourth main entry was in the works. By 2022, writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick was officially developing the script, and Michael Chaves was later announced as director.

Goldberg and Naing eventually boarded for rewrites, assisted in the development of the final chapter of the film. Production took place in London from September to November 2024, with a close production window to accommodate its 2025 release.

Sterling Jerins, who had previously played Judy Warren, did not reprise her role, and Mia Tomlinson was recast. Benjamin Wallfisch scored the music, replacing Joseph Bishara, who had been a series composer for many years.

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The movie is set to release on September 5, 2025.