We finally know what real-life case file of the Warrens The Conjuring 3 will take inspiration from.
James Wan – who won't direct the third movie, but will produce it – has revealed to Bloody Disgusting that, as expected, the threequel won't be about a haunted house. "It's this guy who was on trial for committing a murder," he explained.
"I think it's the first time in America's history where the defendant used possessions as a reason, as an excuse."
That sounds a lot like the "devil made me do it" case in 1981 that saw Arne Cheyenne Johnson plead not guilty to the manslaughter of his landlord, with the Warrens testifying in Johnson's defence.
"All the Conjuring films are based on the case files, so they're more based on the true story aspect of the real-life Warrens. I think that's important. It's important that the mothership stays true to the inspiration of the real people," Wan continued.
"The spinoffs are where we get to have more fun and do weird and wonderful crazy things. The mothership of it being the Conjuring films, we want it to come back to the real stuff."
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Before we get to see The Conjuring 3 though, there will be the currently untitled third Annabelle movie out next year. Unlike the previous two movies in the spinoff series though, the threequel will feature the Warrens.
The currently-untitled Annabelle sequel will be hitting cinemas in both the US and the UK on July 3, 2019, while The Conjuring 3 is expected to be released in 2020.
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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.
