reading time 2 minutes
Just in time for your Halloween horror-movie binge, The Conjuring: Last Rites has arrived on digital (a physical release is coming in late November, just in time for that horror fan on your holiday gift list). From the get-go, the sequel was positioned as the final film in the Conjuring series, with a title that spells that out—and an ending sequence that feels a lot like a sentimental farewell to Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. (Will the film’s huge box office mean another Conjuring is on the way? Only the spirit realm knows.)
Of course, most of the movie sees Ed and Lorraine—this time accompanied by daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson), who’s inherited her mother’s spiritual intuition—coming out of self-imposed retirement to help a family bedeviled by ghosts, demons, and yet another haunted object (a bulky mirror this time) to add to the collection. But early in the movie, Judy gets engaged, so you can safely assume there’ll be a wedding once all the ghouls are taken care of.
And indeed, director Michael Chaves (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) delivers, ending Last Rites with a festive gathering sprinkled with cameos from across the Conjuring Universe. We love the idea that Judy would want to invite people who were helped by her parents to her wedding—including Carolyn Perron (Lili Taylor) from the 2013 original and Peggy Hodgson (Frances O’Connor) from The Conjuring 2—and it’s understandable why some of the other faces got in there (we see you, James Wan).
However, one face that a lot of Conjuring fans hoped to see didn’t make the guest list: Taissa Farmiga, who starred in the Nun spin-off movies and also happens to be Vera Farmiga’s sister. (She’s also a horror fan favorite for her work in American Horror Story.) Furthermore, in The Nun II, which Chaves also directed, it’s suggested that Taissa’s Sister Irene and Vera’s Lorraine are descended from the same bloodline.
Unfortunately, as Chaves told the Hollywood Reporter, bringing Irene in didn’t feel right for the story.
“We didn’t bring Irene into the fourth film … it just didn’t really work in the [Last Rites] storyline,” he explained. “The focus really was going to be Ed and Lorraine, and their relationship with their child, Judy. So the idea of bringing in this long lost relative in Sister Irene, and then also dealing with the difference of age, was too complex once you did the math. It would’ve become too big and too sprawling.”
The “difference of age” refers to the Nun movies taking place decades before The Conjuring—The Nun II is set in the 1950s; Last Rites is in the 1980s—meaning that Taissa, who’s 21 years younger than Vera in real life, would need some major aging-up prosthetic work to play the elderly Irene.
According to Chaves, that was never in the cards. “I did text Taissa to say, ‘You should show up at the wedding, just as a little glimpse, a cameo. We won’t worry about the [25-year] age gap or anything.’ But she was shooting something, and we couldn’t do that.”
Maybe we’ll see Lorraine and Irene team up in The Conjuring 5, if that ends up happening?
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Explore more on these topics
Share this story
Subscribe and interact with our community, get up to date with our customised Newsletters and much more.
Audiences around the world have been dying to see how 'The Conjuring: Last Rites' wraps up the Warrens' cinematic story.
The theater chain hopes its new Slash Pass program gives scary movie fans have another reason visit theaters for the rest of the year.
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson star in the fourth and final 'Conjuring' film, hitting theaters September 5.
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return for the fourth and final film in the hit horror franchise, out September 5.
Meanwhile, a Star Wars, DCU, The Thing , Death Proof, and Final Destination veteran joins the Hand That Rocks the Cradle remake.
Plus, Maika Monroe has a lot of hope for the 'It Follows' sequel.
©2025 GIZMODO USA LLC.
All rights reserved.
Source: Gizmodo