Director Corin Hardy's The Nun is going back to the very beginnings of James Wan's Conjuring Universe, the ever-expanding horror playground that's a bit like the MCU with caped crusaders replaced with literal demons from hell. In a new featurette, Wan explains not only the origins of the universe, but also the complex timeline that spans both Conjuring films, Annabelle, and Annabelle: Creation. 

One of the things that occurred to us early on is, 'they have a superhero universe, why can't we do that in the horror world?' When we were making the first Conjuring, it became very apparent to us that there could be a bigger universe. So many other stories that would be awesome to look into.

The Nun takes place years before the events of The Conjuring 2, which introduced the world to a razor-toothed nun demon known as Valak. As razor-toothed nun demons tend to do, Valak quickly became a fan favorite. Bonnie Aarons reprises the unholy role for The Nun, and American Horror Story star Taissa Farmiga—also the sister of Conjuring star Vera Farmiga—plays Sister Irene, a novitiate dispatched by the Vatican to investigate a secluded abbey.

Check out the featurette below. The Nun—which also stars Jonas Bloquet, Charlotte Hope, and Ingrid Bisu—hits theaters September 7. 

Here's the official synopsis for The Nun:

“When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in “The Conjuring 2,” as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned.”

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Image via Warner Bros.