Brian TruittUSA TODAY
Spoiler alert! The following post discusses important plot points and the ending of “The Nun II,” so beware if you haven’t seen it yet.
Taissa Farmiga's Sister Irene survived another harrowing encounter with a most unholy lady in “The Nun II,” though a close friend apparently hasn't purged the powerful evil inside him.
The latest installment of “The Conjuring” horror franchise continues a plot point from 2018’s first “Nun.” In that original 1950s-set movie, Irene was saved by helpful handyman Maurice (Jonas Bloquet) but in the aftermath he was possessed by the demonic nun Valak (Bonnie Aarons). “Nun II” picks up four years later, with Irene back in the habit of investigating sinister weirdness and traveling to a French boarding school, where she again encounters Maurice − and that devilish woman of the cloth.
There is a happy-ish ending, but it is a “Conjuring” movie after all. Let’s break down that finale and what the midcredits scene – with a couple of noteworthy cameos – could mean for the future of this terrifying connected world.
What happens at the end of 'The Nun 2'?
Irene and fellow nun Sister Debra (Storm Reid) come to France to figure out what’s happening with a string of bloody church murders through Europe and discover that Valak, a fallen angel rejected by God who’s now inhabiting Maurice’s body, is seeking the eyes of St. Lucy, a powerful holy relic passed down through the lineage of the patron saint of the blind. Along the way, Irene discovers that she's a descendant of St. Lucy. When Valak uses the eyes on Irene the demon sets her aflame, but the fire miraculously goes out.
Irene and Debra pray over a pool of wine − since the school was once a winery, and the red stuff gets spilled during the religious melee − and essentially turn it into the blood of Christ. The nuns use it to banish Valak back to hell, thereby freeing Maurice from her clutches and saving the day. (Maybe not for long, though.)
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Is there a post-credits scene in ‘The Nun’ sequel?
Heck, yeah! A woman’s voice is heard answering the phone and the scene opens to the home of Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga), the paranormal investigators at the center of the main “Conjuring” movies. Ed is told it’s Father Gordon (Steve Coulter), a priest who frequently works with the Warrens on their cases, and answers the phone: “Yes, Father, how can we help?”
The brief sequence seems to be pointing to the next film featuring the Warrens: “The Conjuring: Last Rites.” The title was announced in April at CinemaCon, but fans will have to wait a while to see it: Wilson told USA TODAY in June that he “hadn’t seen anything yet” script-wise for the fourth “Conjuring” and that, while it had been in the process of being written, “we just need to wait” until the Hollywood strikes end.
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Will Sister Irene or demonic Valak be back for ‘The Nun 3’?
There’s no threequel in place, although “Last Rites” might be the film that connects the story threads sprinkled throughout the “Conjuring” and “Nun” films. For example, in a scene from 2013’s original “Conjuring,” the Warrens are giving a college lecture in the early ‘70s and showing a home movie of a possessed older Maurice with blood coming out of his eyes and an upside-down cross appearing on his torso from within his body – like the one in “Nun 2” on Maurice’s neck symbolizing the presence of the evil Valak.
“Maurice had a very troubled life with little to live for, and not even an exorcist could bring him back,” Ed says to the class.
“Last Rites” could be the movie that shows the details of what happened when the Warrens tried to help Maurice, since we know Valak’s not done with him yet. And with Lorraine having also encountered her in 2016’s “The Conjuring,” the next movie could tie together Irene and Lorraine. “The Nun II” hints that the two women, who look similar and also have supernatural skills, are connected: Perhaps Lorraine’s also a descendant of St. Lucy, and she and Irene are, like the real-life Farmiga siblings, sisters or even cousins. Or maybe they’re the same person, which is not out of the realm of possibility given the timeframes.
