James Wan has recently confirmed that the Crooked Man spinoff film from The Conjuring has been canceled after spending the better part of five years in development. First appearing in 2016’s The Conjuring 2, the entity was one of the many demons used by Valak to afflict Ed and Lorraine Warren and the Hodgson family. The following year, it was reported that Wan had written a concept for a Crooked Man spinoff film and had hired Mike Van Waes to write the script, but the project appears to have stalled.
James Wan just posted a slew of photos from the set of The Conjuring 2 on Instagram, including several that feature Javier Botet in his role as The Crooked Man. Wan praised the actor for his contributions to the picture and the horrific thing, but he also stated that the planned spinoff movie would not be happening. However, he teased a probable return of the character in future conjuring installments.
With Wan developing the narrative and the horror veteran portraying it as a “dark fairytale,” there was some anticipation for The Conjuring spinoff despite the lack of any substantial updates being shared throughout production. However, with the film’s development stalling for so long, interest in it eventually faded as Wan, New Line Cinema, and producer Peter Safran moved on to making sequels to The Nun and Annabelle. Now, production on the long-delayed The Nun 2 has finally begun this year, with Taissa Farmiga, Bonnie Aarons, and Jonas Bloquet all returning and Storm Reid as the new lead. So, the cancellation of The Crooked Man is the first such occurrence in The Conjuring Universe.
Canceling a project is always a bummer for the people working on it, but the decision to shelve The Crooked Man could end up working out well for the larger Conjuring canon. Many horror filmgoers are disappointed that Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s characters, Lorraine and Ed Warren, who investigate paranormal occurrences, aren’t featured more prominently in the franchise’s spinoffs rather than in the core Conjuring films. In addition to being released five years after the previous film in the series, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It also followed four prequel/sequel films, only one of which (Annabelle Comes Home) introduced fresh content involving the two characters.
With the cancellation of The Crooked Man as a spinoff, the team working on the horror franchise can devote more time to the characters that fans have come to know and love. David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who co-wrote the second and third movies in the Conjuring franchise, is returning to write the script for the upcoming fourth installment, The Conjuring 4, which was recently confirmed together with The Nun 2. Hopefully, with The Crooked Man off their plates and audience reaction in mind, Johnson-McGoldrick and Wan can deliver another horrific and well-crafted genre adventure for the Warrens in the next Conjuring installment.
