Warner Bros.' The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It may be moving to 2021. The next film in The Conjuring universe is stepping away from the haunted house setting and moving to the courtroom. Like previous Conjuring movies, The Devil Made Me Do It is based on a real case file of Ed and Lorraine Warren. In fact, the subtitle of The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It is actually the name of one of the Warrens' most famous cases: the murder trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson.
It's no surprise that Hollywood has been hit hard by the effects of the Coronavirus. After movie theaters started closing at the beginning of the pandemic, studios had no choice but to push their movies back to later dates. Fast forward to now, and films are still continuing to get delayed. Movie theaters like AMC are posed to open back up in July for new releases like Tenet and Mulan, but that could still change given the recent spikes of COVID-19 cases the country has been seeing. Now, the next entry to The Conjuring may be effected.
According to Deadline, Warner Bros. is nervous about releasing The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It in September. The sequel is facing a significant delay, with it being reported that it could be pushed back all the way to 2021. An exact release date isn't set in stone just yet, as Warner Bros. has yet to officially confirm this delay.
Warner Bros. has seen massive success with their Conjuring universe, resulting in numerous sequels and spin-offs over the years. The Conjuring kicked off the franchise back in 2013 but has only had one true sequel thus far. While the spin-offs like Annabelle and The Nun have had varying success, the two main Conjuring films have done relatively well with fans and critics, while earning Warner Bros. a good return at the box office. Fans have been hotly anticipating the next main entry to the franchise, but they now may have to wait a little longer than expected.
If Warner Bros. does delay The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It to 2021, it will likely be to give the release date to one of their other films, like Tenet. Christopher Nolan's upcoming film has already been delayed a few times, but with the cases of Coronavirus continuing to rise, there's no telling if it will be pushed back again. By delaying The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It to 2021, it will give the studio plenty of room to release Tenet first. While fans will surely be disappointed if Warner Bros. confirms this delay, there's no guarantee things will even be back to "normal" when The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is currently scheduled to release.
Source: Deadline