After six years, The Curse of La Llorona is finally getting a sequel. Production on the sequel, titled The Revenge of La Llorona, kicked off this week in Buffalo. Jay Hernandez (Magnum P.I.) and Monica Raymund (Chicago Fire) will star in the movie. Raymond Cruz (Better Call Saul) is the only returning talent, reprising his role of Rafael Olvera, a former priest turned curandero.
Edy Ganem (9-1-1), Martín Fajardo (Griselda), Acston Luca Porto (Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado), and Avie Porto (Bob Hearts Abishola) will also appear in the sequel. The first film was directed by Michael Chaves, who went on to helm The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The Nun II, and The Conjuring: Last Rites, but he won’t be returning for the sequel. Santiago Menghini (No One Gets Out Alive) is directing the follow-up from a script by Sean Tretta (12 Monkeys).
The story will see “the vengeful spirit La Llorona returning, forcing a fractured family to confront their past and join forces with their estranged curandero grandfather to battle ancient evils, before the Weeping Woman claims their children forever.“
Although the first film received largely negative reviews, it did gross over $123 million on a budget of just $9 million, which makes you wonder why a sequel took so long to get off the ground.
Now, the big question: Is The Curse of La Llorona part of The Conjuring universe? There are several notable connections found in the film, including an Annabelle easter egg and Tony Amendola reprising his role as Father Perez, but franchise producer Peter Safran has confirmed that it is not part of the franchise. “You can’t count it!” he said two years ago. “It periodically gets lumped in because of Chaves and because of Atomic Monster, but it is not officially part of the universe. By the way, I think Chaves did a great job on the movie, which is why we stole him for the Conjuring universe.“
Even Chaves agrees. “There’s so much debate about it and I think I’ve played coy in the past,” Chaves said. “The idea was that [the Annabelle cameo] was going to be this little hidden thing that you were going to discover as you watch the movie. One of the reasons that it couldn’t formally be a part of the Conjuring universe is it didn’t include one of the key producers, which is Peter Safran. The Conjuring is his baby, him and James, and they are still the two core producers on it.“
Are you down for a sequel to The Curse of La Llorona?
