One of the many news items that emerged from CinemaCon last week was that horror movie The Nun 2 has been officially greenlit and pre-production is finally moving ahead. On the back of The Nun’s monster box office success in 2018, a script for a sequel was being worked on as early as 2019. However, it is only now that the fires under the nunnery have been lit.
The first film was set in 1952, and there has been some speculation as to whether the sequel would directly follow on from this, or if it would play around with time somewhat. The answer appears to have come in the form of a casting call, according to ScreenRant.
The synopsis included in the casting call states the film is set in 1956 France (a change from Romania in the first film) and will centre on Taissa Farmiga’s Sister Irene as she is forced to face Valak (Bonnie Aarons) once again when a priest is murdered, resulting in an evil spreading. While the first film seemed to tie a neat bow around things between Irene and Valak, it looks like the sequel will work around this somehow.
Something else that The Nun 2 needs to address is how it works as a Conjuring prequel, as Irene isn’t seen or mentioned in the films which are set later. James Wan, who oversees the successful Conjuring franchise maybe needs to work with writer Akela Cooper on how the bridge between The Nun and The Conjuring works.
While The Nun was a box office hit, it did not fair well with the critics. The presence of Malignant writer Akela Cooper for the sequel does provide hope that it will be better. Hopefully it will lean more into the successful elements, such as the gothic atmosphere.
While we wait for more updates on The Nun 2, check out our guide the best ghost movies.