New Line Cinema is looking forward to continuing the Conjuring universe and the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise

We’ve been hearing that the Conjuring film franchise is set to come to an end with the fourth installment, The Conjuring: Last Rites, which Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema has scheduled for a theatrical release on September 5, 2025 release. Some months ago, producer James Wan took to social media to share a picture of the chairs meant for franchise stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga on the set of the film, writing, “Always good to see and hang out with old friends. Gonna miss everyone. End of an era.“ Production on the sequel has since wrapped – and while we wait for the marketing to start, New Line Cinema CCO Richard Brener has revealed that this isn’t the end of the Conjuring Universe. It’s actually just the end of “phase one,” and the studio is looking forward to “phase two.” Brener also admitted that New Line Cinema, which is known as “The House That Freddy Built” because the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise was their first major success, is still hoping to continue the Elm Street series.

We don’t have any plot info on The Conjuring: Last Rites at this time, all we know that the story takes place in the United States in the 1980s. Michael Chaves, who previously directed The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The Nun II, and the Conjuring Universe-adjacent The Curse of La Llorona, is at the helm of The Conjuring: Last Rites, working from a screenplay written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who also wrote The Conjuring 2 and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

Franchise producers James Wan and Peter Safran are producing the film, with Michael Clear and Judson Scott serving as executive producers alongside Hans Ritter.

Wilson and Farmiga have been joined in the cast by Ben Hardy (Love at First Sight) and Mia Tomlinson (The Lost Pirate Kingdom). Details on the characters they’re playing have not been revealed.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Brener said The Conjuring: Last Rites is “testing through the roof and we’re only at the director’s cut, the 10-week part of the movie where you’re normally very, very scared about the status of your film. We’re very early in the process, have very preliminary visual effects, but it’s already through the roof. So while this is the last of what we call phase one, we are hopeful that we can make more.” When he was asked about phase two, he replied, “Phase two is TBD.“

Meanwhile, the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise has been dormant ever since the poorly-received remake was released back in 2010. The Elm Street rights reverted to the estate of the original film’s late creator Wes Craven in 2019, and it was said that they were actively taking pitches. But apparently the rights issue isn’t as clear-cut as it appeared to be. Mike Flanagan has let it be known that he has an idea for a new movie in mind, but his agent can’t figure out who to have him pitch it to. Elijah Wood and his SpectreVision producing partner Daniel Noah have said they want to make an Elm Street movie and have “been in touch with the rights holders many times,” but that hasn’t gone anywhere. Blumhouse founder Jason Blum has said he’s interested in going to Elm Street. But there’s no sign of a new Nightmare on Elm Street movie going forward. The Elm Street franchise seems to be trapped in limbo.

When Brener was asked if there’s another A Nightmare on Elm Street on the horizon, he answered, “We hope so. It’s complicated because of the rights.“

Are you glad to hear that The Conjuring will continue on in some way, and that New Line Cinema still wants to make A Nightmare on Elm Street movies? Share your thoughts on these franchises by leaving a comment below.