Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema have officially set a Conjuring prequel in motion, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit.
The project will reportedly bring back franchise writers Richard Naing and Ian Goldberg, while rising short film director Rodrigue Huart has been tapped to helm the supernatural feature.
Aside from a sequel, a HBO TV series has long being planned for the franchise with Jericho (2008) and Supernatural writer Nancy Won hired to both pen and produce, according to Variety.
The new project marks a change in direction for the franchise, which was previously expected to conclude with The Conjuring: Last Rites. However, the film’s strong box office performance—opening to a franchise-best $187 million and soaring past $487 million globally—appears to have influenced the studio’s decision to continue the series.
The decision has drawn little surprise within the industry, as studios often extend commercially successful titles. A similar approach was seen with Joker, which was initially billed as a standalone film before its strong $1 billion haul led to the development of a sequel, Folie À Deux.
Interestingly, the timing of the prequel’s announcement coincides with major corporate turbulence. Just ten days ago, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO David Zaslav reportedly put the entire company up for sale.
