The first image of the original final villain, the Mirror Demon, from The Conjuring: Last Rites has been released. Although the Mirror Demon was scrapped from the final version, fans now get a glimpse of what could have been. See the image below.
The test audience didn’t respond well to the design, finding the horned demon too clichéd. The filmmakers also felt it would be more effective if the evil presence remained almost faceless, keeping the focus on Judy’s personal struggle with demonic influence — a conflict rooted in the trauma the Mirror Demon caused at her birth when it nearly dragged her to hell.
Also, the creature’s resemblance to Malthus, the demon from Annabelle, risked confusing fans who already blur the lines between different demons in The Conjuring universe. To avoid that confusion, the team decided to remove the horned demon from the final film. Of course, it’s also possible that none of these reasons were definitive, and the real explanation was something else entirely.
It has been reported that a Conjuring prequel movie is officially in development, focusing on the early years of the Warrens, with a screenplay by the Last Rites writers and developed separately from HBO’s Conjuring TV series.
The film is directed by Michael Chaves from a screenplay by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick. It is the ninth installment in The Conjuring film series and is based on the real-life investigation of the Smurl haunting case.
Here are the plot details for The Conjuring: Last Rites:
The final chapter in the Warrens’ story centers on the infamous Smurl family haunting and their now-grown daughter, Judy. The Warrens are retired, with Ed stepping back due to health issues, but they are pulled back into the world of the paranormal when the intensity of the Smurl case becomes too great to ignore.
Based on a real-life haunting from the 1980s, the case is portrayed as their most terrifying and personal yet—featuring a demonic entity with a deep vendetta against the family. Meanwhile, Judy begins to show signs of inherited clairvoyant abilities, adding a new layer to the battle against evil.
In The Conjuring: Last Rites, it’s 1964, and Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are investigating one of their first cases, involving a haunted mirror. When a pregnant Lorraine touches the mirror, she immediately experiences labor pains and is rushed to the hospital, where their daughter is stillborn but miraculously comes back to life after one minute. Years later, in 1986, their grown-up daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) is dating Tony (Ben Hardy). By this time, Ed and Lorraine have stepped away from confronting supernatural forces due to Ed’s heart condition. However, in Pittston, Pennsylvania, the evil mirror resurfaces as a confirmation gift for teen Heather Smurl (Kíla Lord Cassidy). Soon, the Smurl family begins experiencing terrifying events in their home, realizing their lives may be at stake. Can Ed and Lorraine risk everything to face the darkness one last time?
The Conjuring: Last Rites is now available on digital platforms.
