The Nun Is Officially Getting A Sequel

Valak lives! According to Collider, Warner Bros. officially confirmed a sequel to "The Nun" is being developed during its CinemaCon panel in Las Vegas. The as-yet-untitled movie, which will ideally end up being called something like "2 Valak 2 Nun" or "The Nun 2: Back in the Habit," was featured as part of a sizzle reel shown during the studio's presentation. For now, though, story details are being kept under lock and key, presumably in a room surrounded by crosses and other holy relics.

Released in 2018 and directed by Corin Hardy, "The Nun" centers on Valak, the demon with a taste for religious attire who was first shown terrorizing Ed and Lorraine Warren in 2016's "The Conjuring 2." The movie earned generally negative reviews, and for fair reason. Its plot is pretty wobbly and mostly ends up muddling the mythology around Valak. But for me, it more than makes up the difference with its rich, Hammer Horror-style sense of atmosphere and underlying visual symbolism. I should also give a shout-out to Demián Bichir and Taissa Farmiga (sister of "The Conjuring" star Vera Farmiga) for their work as Father Burke and Sister Irene, a pair of Roman Catholics who are a little like the film's answer to Mulder and Scully from "The X-Files" (minus the romantic tension).

If you've grown a little tired of the Warrens and their adventures (least of all given the unsettling allegations made about their real-life counterparts), "The Nun" offers a welcome change of pace. The movie shifts the action to a remote monastery in Romania circa the 1950s and barely features Ed and Lorraine at all, save for an epilogue linking the film's events to the larger "Conjuring" universe. It's unclear where the story could go in "The Nun 2," seeing as "The Conjuring 2" ended with Valak being sent back to Hell by Lorraine. But you know what they say: you can't keep a good (er, bad) demon down, and there's nothing to stop the sequel from going further into the past or perhaps even closer to the present-day.

"The Conjuring" architect James Wan will once again produce "The Nun 2," with Bonnie Aarons all ready and, one hopes, willing to reprise her role as the creep-tastic Valak. Michael Chaves, who directed "The Curse of La Llorona" for Warner Bros., will be helming the film, per Bloody Disgusting. 

However, the big thing for me is Akela Cooper's involvement as the film's scribe. After serving as either a story editor or staff writer on shows like "Grimm" and "American Horror Story," she made the leap to scripting movies with Wan's delicious, delirious giallo throwback "Malignant." Cooper and Wan have since teamed up to write the spooky doll thriller "Megan," with the former also penning the upcoming Stephen King adaptation "The Boogeyman." She's one to watch for, in other words, and I'm very curious to see what she does with a property like "The Nun."

"The Nun 2" has yet to receive a release date, but could arrive as soon as 2023.