The Conjuring franchise is getting a second life in 2027, and The Conjuring: First Communion has the right premise to make that transition feel as meaningful as it should. After The Conjuring: Last Rites brought Ed and Lorraine Warren’s cinematic story to a close, the next movie will move in the opposite direction. Instead of continuing their lives after the events of the 2025 film, First Communion will revisit the years before audiences knew them as the famous paranormal investigators played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.

That time shift gives the franchise an opportunity to change without erasing what came before. First Communion will recast the Warrens and explore the period when Ed and Lorraine were working as paranormal investigators. By moving backward, the movie can explore the experiences that helped mold the Warrens before they became the investigators audiences know from the main series.

With 2027’s The Revenge of La Llorona and an HBO series also in development, the franchise is already expanding beyond the story that defined its first phase. First Communion could be the movie that sets the tone for the future.

The Conjuring: First Communion Will Show Ed & Lorraine Warren’s Early Years

Since The Conjuring: First Communion will take place during the earliest phase of Ed and Lorraine Warren’s relationship, the film is likely to explore how the couple met and began investigating supernatural cases together. That gives the prequel access to a period the main movies have largely skipped. When James Wan’s The Conjuring introduced the Warrens in 2013, they were already an established team with a record of helping families deal with unexplained events.

Garrett Wareing will play a younger Ed Warren, while Amanda Fix will portray a younger Lorraine Warren. Their casting also means First Communion will present a different interpretation of the characters from the one audiences have followed since 2013. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga played Ed and Lorraine throughout the four main Conjuring movies, making their performances a major part of the franchise’s identity. The recasting decisions signal a change in that identity.

Why Is The Next Conjuring Movie A Prequel Instead Of A Sequel?

The simplest reason First Communion is a prequel is that Last Rites left very little reason to continue Ed and Lorraine’s story in the present. The 2025 movie was designed as their final adventure, and director Michael Chaves repeatedly described it as the final chapter. A sequel would therefore risk making that conclusion feel less definitive.

A prequel solves the problem without requiring the franchise to undo its own ending. Their eventual fate remains unchanged, and Last Rites can still function as the conclusion of their main cinematic story. This also makes the decision to recast the Warrens easier to understand.

Wilson and Farmiga have become so closely associated with Ed and Lorraine that replacing them in a direct sequel would immediately raise questions about why the characters look and behave differently. A prequel, though, has a built-in explanation. These are younger incarnations of the Warrens, played by different actors because they are at a different stage of their lives.

Last Rites already introduced audiences to younger versions of Ed and Lorraine (via actors Orion Smith and Madison Lawlor), demonstrating that there was more of their history that the movies could explore. By using new actors, the new filmmakers have an opportunity to build their own versions of the characters, as opposed to treating the prequel as a direct continuation of those brief flashbacks.

The Conjuring’s Prequel Could Be Great For The Franchise

The most interesting possibility for First Communion is that it can show Ed and Lorraine before they had all the answers. The main Conjuring movies usually introduce the Warrens as experienced investigators. They understand the supernatural world better than the families they help, and their reputation gives them authority when they arrive at a new case. That dynamic has worked for the franchise, but it also means the audience rarely sees them learning how to do the work that made them famous. An origin story can change that.

A younger Ed and Lorraine should have less experience and fewer defined methods for dealing with dangerous supernatural phenomena. Their investigations can feel less predictable because the audience will not be watching two experts apply what they already know. The movie can instead show them developing the partnership, investigative instincts and confidence that eventually define them.

What Else Is Coming Up For The Conjuring Universe?

First Communion is only one part of what appears to be a broader expansion for The Conjuring Universe. Warner Bros. also has The Revenge of La Llorona scheduled for February 26, 2027, giving audiences another supernatural story before First Communion arrives later that year. The Revenge of La Llorona will continue the story of 2019’s The Curse of La Llorona. The original movie was connected to the wider Conjuring Universe through Tony Amendola’s Father Perez, who previously appeared in Annabelle. Raymond Cruz is returning as Rafael Olvera for the sequel, which follows a family forced to confront La Llorona’s curse.

The franchise is also expanding into television. HBO is developing an untitled Conjuring series with Nancy Won serving as writer and showrunner. James Wan and Peter Safran are attached as executive producers, giving the series a connection to the filmmakers who helped establish the franchise on the big screen. That combination of projects suggests that Warner Bros. is no longer relying exclusively on Ed and Lorraine’s story to carry the universe. First Communion can explore their past, The Revenge of La Llorona can continue a separate supernatural storyline, and the HBO series can potentially explore another corner of the franchise in a longer-form format.

That is what makes 2027 such an important year for The Conjuring. Last Rites can remain the ending of Ed and Lorraine’s main story while the franchise moves into new timelines and formats. The Conjuring: First Communion does not have to replace what came before it. It can build on it by returning to a part of the Warrens’ lives that the movies have barely explored. If the prequel works, the franchise can keep the Warrens’ original story intact while introducing new actors, new cases and new ways to explore its supernatural world.

Cast

Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Sterling Jerins, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Joey King, Mackenzie Foy, Madison Wolfe, John Noble, Ruairí O’Connor, Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Alfre Woodard, Tony Amendola, Anthony LaPaglia, Miranda Otto, Brad Greenquist, Lulu Wilson, Talitha Bateman, Grace Caroline Currey, Mckenna Grace, Taissa Farmiga, Bonnie Aarons, Demián Bichir, Jonas Bloquet

Director

James Wan, John R. Leonetti, David F. Sandberg, Corin Hardy, Gary Dauberman, Michael Chaves

Character(s)

Lorraine Warren, Ed Warren, Judy Warren, Roger Perron, Carolyn Perron, Christine Perron, Cindy Perron, Janet Hodgson, Father Kastner, Arne Cheyne Johnson, Mia Form, John Form, Evelyn, Father Perez, Samuel Mullins, Esther Mullins, Victor Palmeri, Linda, Annabelle Higgins, Carol, Sister Irene, The Demon Nun / Valak, Father Burke, Maurice Theriault