This might be the end of the road for his involvement, however. Currently, Warner Bros.’ deal requires the studio to credit Wan’s production company, Atomic Monster, on all future Conjuring films as well as a planned TV series. Yes, Last Rites was positioned as Ed and Lorraine Warren’s final outing, but, as Puck notes, it’s currently cleaning up at the box office. With that in mind, it’s not all that surprising that Warner Bros. is reportedly already planning a prequel, not to mention all the other ghosts and demons that could be spun-off from that lucrative original haunting.
Atomic Monster’s CAA rep Bryan Lourd has reportedly been haunting the Warner Bros. lot in kind. Belloni writes that Lourd has made “multiple trips” to negotiate on Wan’s behalf. He reportedly made an initial ask of 50% for all future movies, before lowering it to 25% for the first follow-up film and 50% after that. Warner Bros. is apparently still hesitant, prompting Wan’s threat to walk.
How much the producer’s exit would actually affect future films is up for debate. Sources for Warner Bros. claim his involvement in recent films has been “limited,” with Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear and Natalia Safran (the wife of DC Studio co-CEO Peter Safran) taking on more responsibilities in his stead. On the other hand, Puck reports that multiple non-WB sources say Wan is still “instrumental” in the creative direction of the franchise and continues to make “key contributions to the mythology and scare sequences that have made the movies so popular.”
Wan’s exit would be a big change for the franchise either way, but perhaps not an unwelcome one. “The Conjuring: Last Rites solidifies The Conjuring franchise as the Fast & Furious of horror movies: A conservative, Christian, family-oriented, spin-off and sequel-laden series of adventures that lose the plot and reinvest in the audience’s affection for its familiar beats and cornball leads,” Jacob Oller wrote in his review of the latest film for The A.V. Club. Maybe it’s best for both Wan and the franchise to exorcise themselves and try something new.
