ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with The Nun II director Michael Chaves about this year’s horror sequel. The director discussed his work in The Conjuring Universe and The Nun II’s mid-credit scene. The movie is out today on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD.
“1956 — France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading,” reads the sequel‘s synopsis. “The sequel to the worldwide smash hit follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun.”
Tyler Treese: One aspect I really enjoyed about The Nun II was that this was a proper follow-up to the original Nun and we see the evolution of Sister Irene and Maurice throughout this movie. How was it, building off that first movie and knowing that fans already had an attachment to these characters that you really get the flesh out here?
Michael Chaves: Yeah, I felt the same way. I really loved their characters, I loved them as actors, and I thought that their friendship and flirtation in the first movie was really great. I just thought, “How can we take this further? How can we take the story further?” So that was, honestly, a really great thrill. Then, just expanding on what was already there.
There’s a great mid-credit scene in this movie that used footage from The Devil Made Me Do It, which you also directed. How did you come to the decision to insert it in this movie rather than the last film?
That was something that, when we tested it, I think fans were … one thing that was a little confusing to fans is the question, “Is he still possessed?” When we kept on getting that in cards and in the test screenings, I think that the big issue behind it was a continuity issue. I think that the fans were wondering, “Does this connect to the rest of the Conjuring universe? Does this connect to the timeline?” So there’s a little bit of a hint that there might be something in him, but I think we needed something a little bit more direct that the Warrens are in the wings. This is all leading up to this pivotal cornerstone moment in the Conjuring universe.
And that was my call. That was something that — it’s funny because I actually had cut that out to give clarity on that. I had cut that out from the original Conjuring because it was an idea I came up with that they would just answer the phone at the very end of the movie. But I thought it was stronger to end with them at the Gazebo with the kiss. So I just had that there. No one had ever seen it. I think a bit of it had been used as a promo for HBO Max, but beyond that, I had assumed no one else had seen it.
You’ve worked on three Conjuring movies now. What’s really cool about this franchise is that you can do horror, and they all have a distinct feel. Even though you’ve been in this franchise, this still felt fresh and you got to really play with such an iconic villain with the Nun and then also go in this gothic direction. How has it been working within the same franchise but having the ability to do something fresh each time?
I love that. I think that I’m a big fan of horror and also just the different types. What I loved about the first Nun was it had its roots in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, or more gothic old-school horror. Even that has its roots in silent cinema. I just thought, “Oh, it’d be cool to try and expand that and just bring that further.” Because it’s very different than Conjuring 3, which is more like a police procedural set in the ’80s. And I really enjoyed that. I love connected universes. I love telling these bigger stories, but it’s also just nice to just be able to make it look and feel different.
