The Conjuring 4 will be the last movie of the series led by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, as the Conjuring universe keeps expanding in different directions.
The final chapter of the Warrens story on screen is finally set to start filming this year with a familiar face returning to the director's chair.
In February 2024, it was confirmed that Michael Chaves – who directed The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and The Nun II – is directing the new movie, which might not be called The Conjuring: Last Rites as originally announced.
Producer James Wan had previously revealed that the fourth movie would be the final main outing in The Conjuring series, which has expanded to include multiple spin-off movies.
In January 2023, producer James Wan – who also directed the first two movies – said work was underway on the fourth movie, after it was confirmed in October 2022, but asked for patience from fans of the series.
Wan is back producing the new movie alongside Peter Safran, while David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick – who wrote the second and third movies – is writing the fourth.
While we wait, here's everything you need to know about The Conjuring 4.
The Conjuring 4 potential release date: When could we expect The Conjuring 4?
The Conjuring 4 has been confirmed, but we still don't have a confirmed release date as of May 2024.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie is set to start filming this summer in Atlanta.
If filming starts as planned, it means we could expect to see it in cinemas in June or July 2025. A summer release might sound odd, but common for the series: The Conjuring came out in July 2013, The Conjuring 2 in June 2016 and The Conjuring 3 in June 2021.
They might save it more for Halloween season like with The Nun II (a September 2023 release in cinemas), but we'll have to wait and see.
The Conjuring 4 cast: Who's coming back for The Conjuring 4?
It's not been officially confirmed, but we'd be amazed if Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga weren't back as Ed and Lorraine Warren – it's not a Conjuring movie without them.
Fortunately, they seem up for more outings so it won't be a case of persuading them to return.
"Oh my God, I'd love to [continue]," Farmiga said, with Wilson adding: "We constantly want to push these characters. I would like to – for no other reason than I would want to keep playing opposite Vera."
If you can't wait for The Conjuring 4 to see the Warrens again, they pop up in The Nun 2 credit scene in a brief teaser for the next movie.
Other returns are harder to predict, especially since the third movie didn't feature many crossovers from the wider Conjuring universe.
Sterling Jerins reprised her role as Judy Warren, while there were also return appearances for Steve Coulter as Father Gordon and Shannon Kook as Drew Thomas. All of them could be back in the fourth movie, but that's probably it for comebacks.
As in the other Conjuring movies, a fourth outing would cover an entirely new case, which means a largely new cast, outside of the main characters.
The Conjuring 4 plot: Which cases could The Conjuring 4 cover?
The third movie ends in November 1981 after the trial of Arne Johnson, and we can assume that The Conjuring 4 will take place after this in the timeline.
That still leaves some interesting cases from the real-life experiences of the Warrens that could be used as a basis for a new movie, which could see them head back into a haunted house.
In 1986, the Warrens investigated a double helping of haunted houses with the Snedeker house and the Smurl Haunting. The former has already loosely inspired The Haunting in Connecticut, and both revolved around houses supposedly infested by demons.
After the third movie broke out of the haunted house formula, it might be a disappointing backwards step for the series to return to one.
If they want to avoid that trope, there's a case that's yet to be covered from the Warrens' case files that holds a lot of promise: the legend of the White Lady at the Union Cemetery in Easton, Connecticut.
While the Warrens didn't directly investigate the phenomenon, they have claimed to have a video of the White Lady in action and have written a book about it.
It's said that the spirit appears in a delicate white nightgown or wedding dress and moves through the cemetery, with reports that drivers have even seen her outside of the cemetery, causing them to swerve.
"I can tell you that I know for a fact that this place is haunted, it's one of the most haunted places around," noted Lorraine Warren – and if that isn't scope for a Conjuring movie, we don't know what is.
The Conjuring 4 trailer: Any footage of The Conjuring 4 yet?
The Conjuring 4 has yet to start filming so we'll be waiting a while for footage. Keep this page bookmarked and we'll update it whenever there's new information.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
