What Could New Line's The Nun Be About?
First witches, then dolls, and now nuns. Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema are returning to the well of Ed and Lorraine Warren and their stories within the realm of the supernatural.
Slated to release on Friday, July 13th, 2018 (Friday the 13th? Smooth, New Line.), The Nun will make its debut as the second spin off of the universe of The Conjuring, making it the fifth installment following Annabelle: Creation, coming out this August. James Wan is set to return as a producer for the movie, similar to the Annabelle series, with The Hallow’s Colin Hardy slated to direct. James Wan is also set to be a writer alongside Gary Dauberman, reforming the duo of Annabelle and Annabelle: Creation.
Though there has been no news as of yet if Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga returning to play Ed and Lorraine Warren, respectively, Vera’s sister Taissa Farmiga, of American Horror Story, is set to star alongside Demián Bichir, from The Hateful Eight. Newly announced, without attempting to date myself, are The Family’s Jonas Bloquet, and The Conjuring 2’s Bonnie Aarons, who played the demonic nun, Valak. Surprise surprise, right?
Little is known, so let’s start some theorising. Spoiler alert for The Conjuring 2 and Annabelle.
It is public information now that James Wan came up with the idea of the nun late in the production of The Conjuring 2 after speaking with Lorraine, leading to a series of reshoots. That being said, Lorraine’s son-in-law, Tony Spera, has told The Nebula Collective that the Warrens did investigate a case in Essex, England at The Borley Rectory and Church.
The story goes that a priest and a nun were having an affair, but upon being discovered the priest was beheaded and the nun was walled up, or entombed with bricks, alive and was left to die. The Warrens witnessed and photographed the nun walking down the center aisle of the church using infrared film. Though they didn’t perform an exorcism, and the spirit has not been known to be mischievous in the same way as Valak has been depicted, Wan and Dauberman could very well be using this account as a starting point for their story.
Though Valak is a made up character, there is actually a demon named Valak. Though they don’t share a resemblance, they do share a name and the title of “Marquis of Snakes”. Valak is a powerful demon, attributed with the power of finding treasured and the power within them. Odds are low that Ed and Lorraine will be main characters within the movie, but this focus on treasure could be another basis for an origin story, similar to Annabelle recounting how the doll became possessed. Maybe someone will find a nice necklace, or more likely, some religious treasures from Borley itself?
What’s intriguing is the line from Ed in The Conjuring 2, where he tells Janet about a nun from his childhood. Though this could be coincidental, the fixation that Valak had on taking Ed’s life makes this idea of Ed’s nun more interesting. After all, he was the one who painted the picture of Valak in the beginning. Then again, one would have to wonder if New Line is trying that hard to weave together complicated storylines.
In addition to this, one must wonder why Valak chose to haunt the Hodgson family in Enfield. Rather than the ghost of Bill Wilkins haunting the family on his own accord, Valak chose to control his spirit and force him to haunt the family. This could indicate some sort of familial past that the Hodgson family had that could be elaborated on in The Nun. The lack of a husband/father was a very defining aspect of the family, and the aversion to Ed could indicate that Valak finds men to be a threat.
Furthermore is the image of a nun as a basic symbol. While we have seen witches and dolls in the series, a nun seems to deviate from the norm. A nun is a paragon of sacredness and religious devotion, and delivering a contrasting idea of said image is a very strong statement. Could this nun be a reflection of The Warrens or the main figures of the upcoming plot, or am I overcomplicating things and it’s just an evil nun? Only time will tell.
A huge thank you goes out to Tony Spera, as well as the whole N.E.S.P.R, or New England Society for Psychic Research.
0 Comments Add a Comment?