Warning! Positively do not open if you're yet to watch The Nun 2. Spoilers, not Annabelle, inside.
At the end of The Nun, it was revealed that Sister Irene's ally Frenchie had not only been possessed by titular demon Valak, but he was the guy who Patrick Wilson's Ed and Vera Farmiga's Lorraine Warren attempted to exorcise prior to the events of The Conjuring. It's understandable, then, that many have been desperate to find out whether newly-released The Nun 2 doubles down on the connection.
There's also the small matter of Sister Irene actor Taissa Farmiga being franchise veteran Farmiga's real-life sister, which makes the idea of the pair sharing the screen even more exciting. So, with that, are Ed and Lorraine in The Nun 2?
The Nun 2 end-credits scene explained: Are Ed and Lorraine in the movie?
Well, yes, but the scene is brief – and wasn't specifically filmed for the sequel. The Nun 2's end-credits scene opens on the Warrens' mailbox outside their home in Connecticut, New England. Using cut footage from The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which The Nun 2 director Michael Chaves also directed, it then quickly jumps to inside their bungalow, as the couples' phone rings.
Someone, potentially a friend of their young daughter Judy's, calls out for Ed ("It's an emergency"), who comes in and answers the call as Lorraine follows behind. Turns out, it's Father Gordon (Steve Coulter), the priest who regularly puts the Warrens in touch with families whose struggles are being ignored by the church, on the other end. The movie cuts to black after demonologist Ed vows he and his clairvoyant wife will help, which was presumably plonked there to tease The Conjuring's greenlit fourth installment The Last Rites à la the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Eagle-eyed Conjuring Universe fans might recognize shots from the sequence from The Conjuring 3's promotional material, particularly an ad from HBO Max that Chaves referenced in a tweet back in August 2021. "The one on the right was from the alternate ending (I had a version where they didn't kiss and they were interrupted by a Father Gordon call)," he said of a still, which confirms The Nun 2 end-credits scene was filmed disconnectedly. "But I felt that was cruel to all the #Parmiga fans - we deserve a good kiss!"
Ed and Lorraine's cameo in The Nun 2 marks Wilson and Farmiga's third appearance in the series outside of The Conjuring films; following The Nun and Annabelle Comes Home. When considering whether we'll ever see Sister Irene share a scene with Ed and Lorraine, it's worth noting that The Nun 2 takes place in 1956, almost 15 years before the events of The Conjuring.
That said, the filmmakers have always played pretty fast and loose with the ever-expanding series' timeline. Ed and Lorraine's documented encounter with Frenchie aka Maurice – which scarred Lorraine so badly that she didn't come out of their bedroom for eight days – depicts the Frenchman as significantly older than The Nun's actor Jonas Bloquet, though The Nun's ending retconned this and used Bloquet.
Earlier on in The Nun 2, it's established that Irene and Lorraine are both descendants of Saint Lucy, a real-life Roman Christian martyr, who is said to have had her eyes gouged out before being killed by Pagans in the fictional film. Much of the follow-up's final act revolves around Irene and her pal Sister Debra (Storm Reid) trying to find Saint Lucy's eyes, now considered a powerful holy relic, before Valak does. Turns out, Irene inherited the ability to perform miracles and see visions from Saint Lucy, which is also the reason behind Lorraine's otherworldly gifts from – and hints that a future onscreen meet could be on the cards.
The Nun 2 is out in cinemas now. For more, check out our list of all the upcoming horror movies heading our way in 2023 and beyond.
