Annabelle 3 - the third entry in Warner Bros’ Conjuring spinoff series centered on the haunted doll - has officially been titled Annabelle Comes Home. Blumhouse Productions may be the biggest overall name in horror right now, but Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema division isn’t far behind. New Line has always had a soft spot for horror, often being regarded as “The House That Freddy Built,” due to A Nightmare on Elm Street being the company’s first big successful franchise. In the current decade, New Line’s driving horror force has been the James Wan created Conjuring universe.
Launched in 2013 with Wan’s original Conjuring film, the franchise has so far produced five films, and hauled in over $1.5 billion worldwide at the box office. There’s been one direct sequel in The Conjuring 2, a spinoff centered on Annabelle that also earned its own sequel Annabelle: Creation, and last year’s additional spinoff The Nun. This summer, a third Annabelle installment is on the way, one that will see the Warrens play a part in the demon-possessed doll’s main story for the first time.
A third Annabelle film was first confirmed as in the works last summer, although its arrival was never really in doubt, since the first two movies made over $500 million combined. Now, Annabelle 3’s official Twitter account has revealed that the film’s final title will be Annabelle Comes Home. This is presumably a play on the setting for the sequel spinoff being Ed and Lorraine Warren’s home.
Speaking of the married paranormal investigators, both Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are set to return as Ed and Lorraine, respectively. The adult Warrens won’t be the central protagonists of Annabelle Comes Home though. That job goes to their daughter Judy this time out, played by McKenna Grace. The young actress is carving out quite the career already, having just played a young Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel, and also had a role on Netflix hit The Haunting of Hill House. Actress Sterling Jerins briefly played Judy in The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, but one assumes producers didn’t think she was ready for a leading role.
Annabelle Comes Home will thankfully not attempt to retell Annabelle’s origin story for a third time. 2014’s first Annabelle film seemingly did that, by having the doll become possessed after a cult member named Annabelle committed suicide while holding it. 2017’s Annabelle: Creation flipped that script, going back even further in time to conjure up a different origin for the doll’s original demonic possession. Now, Annabelle Comes Home heads back to the era of the original Conjuring movie, with the titular doll already locked inside the Warrens’ vault of haunted objects. Obviously, Annabelle has no intention of staying put.
More: Screen Rant’s 50 Most Anticipated Movies of 2019
Source: Annabelle Comes Home/Twitter
- Annabelle 3 Release Date: 2019-06-26
