The Conjuring universe continues to grow. James Wan's horror hit has already spawned a sequel and two spinoff franchises (Annabelle and The Nun), and now the Annabelle films are getting a third installment with New Line favorite writer Gary Dauberman (Annabelle, IT) set to make his directorial debut on the project.
Last night, at San Diego Comic-Con's ScareDiego event, New Line confirmed Annabelle 3, along with Dauberman's role as director, and unveiled some new plot details about the project. According to Wan, who continues to produce the spinoff films, the new Annabelle movie will be something like a haunted Night at the Museum, wherein Annabelle targets the Warrens' room full of creepy artifacts.
Wan explained,
"Annabelle basically activates all the other haunted artifacts in that room, so it’s basically Night at the Museum with Annabelle."
Dauberman further clarified that the film finds the creepy doll targeting the Warrens' 10-year-old daughter Judy, who you may recall had a confrontation with Annabelle near the end of the first Conjuring film. Of course, that attack was at the behest of Bathsheba, but it sets the stage for some significantly creepy memories for the young girl. Dauberman explained he's still finalizing the script, but the film essentially picks up with the Warrens bringing the killer doll to a place where she can't wreak havoc (their room of artifacts) only to find she can wreak some major havoc there as well.
There's a lot of fun to be milked out of the concept of the Warrens' house of horrors gone wild, especially with The Conjuring serving as the basis for the shared universe of horror. Maybe we'll see a little Valak cameo (after all, that demonic force will be riding off The Nun and is supposedly set to take center stage in a standalone Crooked Man movie), or maybe we'll see a whole new host of horrific forces poised to face down the Warren lineage.
Per the announcement, "Annabelle arrives home next summer." For more of our thoughts on the news, check out the video below and be sure to stay tuned for more of the latest from Comic-Con.
