The Nun explores the origins of the titular habit-clad demon from The Conjuring 2, but it may tie into the cinematic story of Lorraine and Ed Warren at another level as well. Unlike the eponymous apparition - whose enigmatic appearances throughout The Conjuring 2 practically screamed "We're going to make another movie about this thing!" - this connection was more of a happy coincidence, as revealed in an interview for the latest issue of SFX Magazine.
The Nun's lead actress, Taissa Farmiga, plays a young nun who accompanies an older exorcist to a Transylvanian abbey (yes, Transylvania is a real place in central Romania). Taissa is the younger sister of Vera Farmiga, who plays Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring films. That wasn't on purpose!
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"Originally we were looking at casting an English actress," director Corin Hardy explained, "But Taissa was so good I couldn't not cast her. My concern was, if I cast her is it going to be, 'Oh, it's the easy option', but it wasn't! She's so right for the role, she possesses something extraordinary."
Taissa actually got the audition lines from her agent while she was hanging out with Vera, and her older sister encouraged her to go. Taissa wasn't so sure: "To be honest, I thought, 'Oh, it's going to be weird if they cast me', because of the physical appearances."
They really do look a lot alike, even more than you'd expect from the usual familial resemblance; Taissa played a very convincing teenage version of Vera in the latter's directorial debut Higher Ground. That said, it wasn't a deciding factor in giving Taissa the lead role in The Nun… but it sounds like the crew still made the most of it once the cameras started rolling. Hardy teased that we'll have to "wait and see" about any further connections between the films, but Taissa gave us the scoop.
"Y'know, I'm not sure what they're going to do in editing," Taissa said. "We filmed a few things, and we'll have to see what makes it into the final cut."
Don't forget to pick up the latest issue of SFX Magazine for more on The Nun.
