The Nun 2 ending could mess up The Conjuring timeline (2024)

The Nun 2's ending left viewers with a major question about Maurice, so we're here to offer some answers.

In the first movie, Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) was revealed to be the same Maurice we saw being exorcised by Ed and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring, set 20 years after the prequel movie.

The sequel, which was the biggest horror movie of 2023 with nearly $270 million grossed worldwide, sees Maurice continue to be tormented and used by Valak (Bonnie Aarons).

However, the ending of The Nun 2 potentially messes up the Conjuring timeline with an unexpected revelation.

In order to explain it all, we need to go into some major spoilers for The Nun 2, so look away now if you haven't seen it yet.

The Nun 2 ending explained

The sequel sees Valak going on a murder spree across Europe from Hungary to France in order to find a holy relic that could give Valak some angelic superpowers. All that stands in the demon nun's way is Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga).

Valak is after the eyes of Saint Lucy, patron saint of the blind, in order to restore the power that was taken from the demon when it was an angel rejected by God. As it turns out, those eyes are buried in the chapel at the boarding school where Maurice now works as a handyman.

It's unclear if Valak knows where the relic is as the demon has just been killing people that own rosary beads with the family crest of Saint Lucy. However, the demon definitely finds out when Sister Irene and Sister Debra (Storm Reid) show up.

Together with the help of teacher Kate (Anna Popplewell) and her daughter Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey), Irene and Debra tie up Maurice who has now been fully taken over by Valak. They dig up the relic from under the chapel's floor, but Valak has already gotten loose.

A battle for the relic ensues, which eventually culminates in Valak getting it and using it to power up, spelling trouble for everybody.

It's okay though, because, in order to save herself, Irene starts to think of her late mother and has a revelation that she's actually a descendant of Saint Lucy herself, like Lorraine Warren is too.

Together with Debra, they turn the red wine (which has now flooded the room) into the blood of Jesus and Valak burns up.

Irene is then able to save Maurice from Valak's clutches and all ends well with Maurice back working at the school, and seemingly having gained a new family with Kate and Sophie.

But wait a minute. The Nun 2 takes place in 1956 and Valak is definitely still doing demonic things in 1977 when The Conjuring 2 is set. Also, Maurice definitely dies at some point before The Conjuring in 1971, so what gives?

Has The Nun 2 created a plot hole that it needs to fix?

How does The Nun 2 connect to The Conjuring?

Unless they've decided to completely shake up The Conjuring universe by starting a new timeline, the obvious answer to this is that no, The Nun 2 hasn't created a plot hole – but it needs another movie to clarify things.

It's entirely possible that, somehow, Maurice is still possessed in some way by Valak or if he's totally free at the end of the sequel, then Valak will be back to possess him again in time for his fateful exorcism.

In The Conjuring, it was revealed that the exorcism didn't work on Maurice who eventually tried to kill his wife, only managing to shoot her in the arm, before killing himself.

It's an unhappy ending for a likeable guy, but that's the canon. (That wife could also be retconned to be Kate from The Nun 2.)

We know that it's definitely Valak that is possessing Maurice at the time of his exorcism as The Nun revealed that Valak showed a vision of Ed's death to Lorraine, causing her to lock herself in her bedroom for eight days.

So, at some point, Valak has to come back in order to tidy up the timeline. It's certainly what director Michael Chaves hinted at when he was asked about Maurice's fate at the end of the sequel in September 2023.

"Valak either gets back into him or Valak might still be in there, and I think that's really open to interpretation. There's definitely a moment; there's a look between the two of them at the very end that, I think, says a lot," he explained.

"I think that there's definitely something there, and you could just see that. Irene has got a second sight. She knows that she sees things that aren't always there, and I feel like… Watch her eyes! Watch her eyes in the end."

In a separate interview with Collider in November 2023, Chaves added that the mid-credit scene with the Warrens – taken from unused footage from Conjuring 3 – was added due to audience confusion over Maurice's fate.

"The reason I put it in there honestly was because audiences, at the end of the movie, I think it was a little bit too subtle in terms of, how does this connect to the rest of the chronology," he explained.

"So that was something that, as we tested it, people kept on saying, 'Is he still possessed? Does he get exorcised by the Warrens?' I kept on seeing it, and I was like, 'Oh man, I don't know what I'm gonna do!' And I thought, 'Oh, I got this footage; I'm just gonna put that in there as like a mid-credit.'"

It could be something explored in the already-confirmed Conjuring 4, but for now, we can revel in the happy ending of The Nun 2, albeit one with the knowledge that it all ends very badly for poor Maurice.

The Nun II is available to buy from Prime Video, iTunes, Microsoft Store and other digital retailers.