The Conjuring: Last Rites is already scary sight unseen for Conjuring fans, because it’s due to be the final film in the mainline Conjuring series. But if you’ve watched any of the movies it’s spawned since 2013, you know they aim to shock and terrify, with curse-flinging witches and demonic nuns looming out of the darkness. That said, one thing you can rest assured won’t be in Last Rites: unintentional jump scares wrought by uncanny valley de-aging technology.
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Last Rites director and Conjuring series veteran Michael Chaves teased a meaty flashback scene featuring younger versions of Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in all the films. He fully intended to use those actors in the scene, then apply de-aging tech to make them appear decades younger.
However, he admitted, his confidence in that approach had already begun to waver when Farmiga herself chimed in. “Out of the blue, Vera gives me a call and, almost like she’s a psychic herself, she’s just like, ‘You know what? I have a feeling on this. I think you should cast it,’” Chaves told EW.
He continued. “The way [Vera] articulated it was… When you see Patrick and Vera, there’s comfort. They are kind of sacred and everything works out and you’re very aware of them. If you’re seeing a new Ed and Lorraine Warren, something is a little unsteady about that. I think it makes it a little bit more off-kilter.”
It took some convincing at the studio level, but the new approach prevailed, and Madison Lawlor and Orion Smith came aboard as the younger Warrens.
They enjoyed the experience so much they’d both be up for returning as the characters if, say, The Conjuring ever did a full-on prequel movie. “I would love to explore what the beginning of their careers looked like, because I think that is so fascinating how they found their footing and built this really amazing empire,” Lawlor said.
So far no word on whether or not that’s in the cards, but you can see Ed and Lorraine Warren—at different ages, played by different actors—when The Conjuring: Last Rites hits theaters September 5.
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