The Conjuring Universe of films has officially reached its “one last ride” era, and surprisingly, its biggest inspiration didn’t come from a new horror movie at all. According to the recently released The Conjuring: Last Rites director Michael Chaves, the emotional backbone of the film owes a lot to Logan, Hugh Jackman’s 2017 superhero (almost) swan song that turned a gritty comic-book movie into a heartfelt farewell. And when you hear his reasoning, it actually makes perfect sense.
Chaves confirmed in a recent interview with ScreenRant that Logan heavily influenced how he approached the 2025 movie release. The Late Rites serves as both the ninth installment in the Conjuring franchise and a proper goodbye to Ed and Lorraine Warren. The director said he wanted the film to deliver more than just scares and to feel like closure. He explained:
Logan’s one of my favorite movies, and what I loved about it is that you can imagine the daughter going off on adventures in Canada and having this young mutant life. It gives you hope just thinking about it. But I think that there’s also something wonderful about feeling that conclusion; feeling the end of that story. That’s really what we wanted to deliver for this.
That emotional throughline is clear in Last Rites, which follows Ed and Lorraine (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) in 1988 as they’ve retired from their investigative work… until a demonic case tied to their past pulls them and their daughter, Judy (Mia Tomlinson), back into the supernatural fray. The film closes not just on another exorcism, but on a note of hope and transition, as Judy steps into her parents’ legacy. Like Logan, it’s an ending that hurts a little but feels appropriate.
Chaves said the theme of “letting go” drove the entire story. For him, this wasn’t just about ending the horror movie franchise, but ending an era. He continued:
So many franchises struggle with the final chapter… Because it’s hard for audiences to let a story go.
For the Warrens, that theme is literal as their daughter starts a life of her own, her parents must come to terms with stepping back. That idea was anchored by what Chaves called “the darkest chapter” in the series. The film opens with an emotionally devastating sequence that serves as both a flashback and a full-circle moment for the Warrens — a “bookend” that Chaves said was designed to take the audience “from the beginning to the end.”
The Last Rites was promoted as the grand finale, and opinions on that ending may differ, but director Michael Chaves made it clear the Conjuring universe isn’t closing its doors just yet. He shared that studio executives are being “very careful” about what comes next, with spin-offs and even a prequel already in development. Still, when it comes to Ed and Lorraine Warren’s story, Chaves called Last Rites the definitive end of the line.
Then again, Hugh Jackman once said the same thing about Logan before returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So never say never. For now, fans can catch The Conjuring: Last Rites in theaters (check your local listings) or revisit the earlier chapters, including the main trilogy and all the eerie spin-offs, now streaming with an HBO Max subscription.