The Conjuring: Last Rites brought back this demon Ed and Lorraine faced before

The Conjuring: Last Rites may have ended the chapter of a subseries, but it failed to instill fear in the fans. Still, it managed to become a commercial success on its $55 million budget, currently sitting with $187 million at the global box office. Though there's less horror in the movie, it does connect to the rest of the franchise seamlessly.

One of those connections goes back to another demon introduced in the first movie, the Annabelle doll controlling Bathsheba. Yes, that demonic doll is in the final film too, and that also gives the fans some hope that there will be more to the story of the haunted toy.

In the film, Judy first sees Annabelle sitting on a chair. Again, when she is being chased by a giant version of it. However, she is still behind that glass case. So, we can temporarily say that she won't be terrorizing the characters for now. But who knows what the future holds, or if the future will be able to hold her?

Are we getting Annabelle 4 then?

The evil toy's presence in The Conjuring: Last Rites means that there's hope we can see Annabelle in a future movie. Gary Dauberman, who created the Annabelle trilogy, did keep the hope for it alive in a recent interview he gave to CBR, where he said,

"It's been talked about. That's all I can... that's all I'll say about it. I mean, she's still around. You could do a modern day one."

In another interview he gave to Entertainment Weekly, which was about the third Annabelle film, he laid down this possibility while keeping another spin-off from The Conjuring subseries, The Nun, in context. Though The Nun didn't come out until 2023. He said,

"I didn't look at this process, or I know James (Wan, producer) didn't, going, 'What other stuff can we absolutely spin-off into other movies?' [It's about] what works for this movie, and then if people seem to dig it, then we'll got from there. I mean, when James did The Nun for Conjuring 2, it wasn't like, 'Oh, that's going to be great as a spin-off.'"

That said, and keeping in mind The Conjuring: Last Rites cameo, the doll could be around. We just need one official announcement.

What now after The Conjuring: Last Rites?

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise their roles in The Conjuring: Last Rites. (Image via Warner Bros.)

As of this writing, no project associated with the franchise is currently in development after The Conjuring: Last Rites. But there's a movie that's been talked about since 2017, The Crooked Man. James Wan and Peter Safran were set to produce the project. However, as of now, the project isn't moving forward, and James Wan says that it isn't under his control.

The Crooked Man was last seen in The Conjuring 2. In the film, Billy (Benjamin Haigh) wakes up in the middle of the night and walks through the entrance, where his dog is sitting. However, it turns into the scary Crooked Man, who chases Billy. As soon as he wakes up his family, they witness his shadow until it is revealed that it's one of the Hodgson children.

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