WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Warner Bros.' The Nun, directed by Corin Hardy, in theaters now.
For nearly a decade, almost every major movie studio has been looking to kickstart the next big cinematic universe. It all began when Marvel Studios started cross-pollinating its movies in 2008, a practice that would lead to the arrival of a film that would change everything: 2012's The Avengers. Since then, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has only gotten bigger, with more movie and more superheroes than you can count. Marvel's success has been unprecedented and unparalleled, and it of course blazed a trail that others would try to emulate.
In 2013, Warner Bros. released Man of Steel, the first film in the DC Extended Universe that would pave the way for Wonder Woman and Justice League. In 2014, Warner Bros. would also release Godzilla, a film that spawned the MonsterVerse, a shared universe that includes 2017's Kong: Skull Island as well as the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Earlier this year, Universal attempted to launch the Dark Universe, which would have mixed classic movie monster characters like the Wolfman and the Bride of Frankenstein... had The Mummy not been so ill-received.
REVIEW: The Nun is Gleefully Spooky and Surprisingly Fun
The shared cinematic universe is the new lay of the land, and others are trying to recreate its success, to varying degrees. But there is one universe who has taken its time in settling in, quietly becoming perhaps the most well-executed and thought out shared cinematic universe after the MCU: The Conjuring Universe. And if there was ever any doubt of that fact, the release of the franchise's latest film, The Nun should erase it.
Directed by James Wan, The Conjuring was released in 2013. At the time, the movie was only meant to be a strong entry in the horror genre. However, the film was so well-executed and well-received that it spawned a spinoff movie, Annabelle, which was released a year later in 2014. While the spinoff failed to live up to the standards of the original, it still cemented the potential of the franchise. Next would come The Conjuring 2 in 2016, and a proper origin movie for everyone's favorite haunted doll in Annabelle: Creation. This brings us to September 2018, which sees the release of the franchise's latest spinoff film : The Nun.
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The Nun takes place almost twenty years prior to the events of the first Conjuring film, telling the origin of the demon entity known as Valak, which tormented Ed and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring 2. Like both Annabelle films, The Nun is, for the most part, only tangentially connected to the Warrens. It takes place in the same universe, and it features a bit of cross-pollination, but it tells its own story first and foremost. It's only at the end of the film that the full scope of its connection to both Conjuring films is revealed, bringing things to a surprising and quite satisfying close.
And therein lies the true strength of The Conjuring Universe. All of its spinoff movies revolve around the world of the Warrens, but each broadens the scope of the tapestry they are a part of. Once the films end, viewers can connect the dots and see how each piece of the puzzle fits in with the other. This makes this universe not only smart and rewarding, but one that begs to be re-watched from the beginning.
Perhaps the greatest success of this franchise is that it didn't set out to be anything more than an original, haunting film. Just as Marvel started with Iron Man, New Line developed The Conjuring as a standalone film -- not as the launching pad for a shared universe. Unlike the DCEU, which rushed through many beats in order to get to Justice League faster, The Conjuring Universe took its time to establish its scope. It started with a spinoff -- nothing more. Then came the sequels, and other spinoffs and, before you knew it, we had a full-fledged shared universe on our hands.
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After Marvel and DC's respective cinematic universes, The Conjuring is the one that stands with the most films with five entries -- and it doesn't look like it will stop there. The Nun looks set to earn the biggest opening numbers in the franchise's history, which means that a sequel or another spinoff is almost a certainty. Who knows what this horror universe will bring next? If previous films are any indication, this next film will broaden the universe in new and inventive ways... and it will scare the living hell out of you while it does.
Directed by Corin Hardy, The Nun stars Demián Bichir, Bonnie Aarons, Taissa Farmiga and Jonas Bloquet. The film is now in theaters everywhere.