THE CONJURING: LAST RITES Considered an AVENGERS: ENDGAME Approach, But Then Took Inspiration From LOGAN
Ever since The Conjuring Universe became a full-blown horror juggernaut, fans have been wondering how it would all wrap up. With multiple films including the Annabelle trilogy, the Nun duology, and even The Curse Of La Llorona in its orbit, you'd expect the final chapter, The Conjuring: Last Rites, to go out with a bang.
It turns out that comparisons to Avengers: Endgame came up when developing the final film, especially with the potential for a villain-packed send-off. But it turns out, the creative team behind the film had a much more grounded and emotionally-driven finale in mind.
Director Michael Chaves, who previously helmed The Curse Of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Nun II, revealed that yes, a massive supernatural team-up was discussed early on.
“We had a couple roundtable sessions where we were just opening up to all the ideas of what it could be. And one of them was a kind of an Endgame sort of like, 'Let's throw all the demons in there, let's kind of do everything.' And there is something about that that feels kind of natural like, 'Okay, we're gonna just do the full rogues gallery.'”
It would’ve made sense. Last Rites follows Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren, now older and facing the twilight of their careers. What better time for a last stand against their greatest adversaries like Valak or The Crooked Man, right?
But Chaves ultimately took a different path. Rather than chase spectacle, he aimed for something more personal, drawing inspiration from Logan, director James Mangold’s powerful swan song for Wolverine.
“One of the things that I kept on coming back to is I love Logan, and I love how with Logan it has this great sense of conclusion through the characters and through this great emotional relationship.
“You don't have Sabertooth popping up and you don't have all of his like old like cronies, Magneto, coming after him. What I love about that movie is the villains are obviously important, but it's really secondary to this emotional journey and the emotional closure.
“And so I always just use that as like a north star. I wanted to have that same emotional conclusion.”
So instead of a horror all-star brawl, Last Rites goes back to the roots of The Conjuring series by pulling directly from the real-life case files of the Warrens.
The story centers on the haunting of the Smurl family in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, a case packed with eerie intensity and psychological depth. It’s the kind of grounded, emotionally driven story that allows the focus to stay on the Warrens themselves, making their final chapter feel more personal and meaningful.
It seems like that the creative team made the right choice and is exactly what the franchise needs to land its final scare with heart.