Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga Look Back at Their Journey Ahead of ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ [Interview]

It’s the end of an era. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are set to take their final bow as the fictional versions of Ed and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring: Last Rites.

While the Conjuring Universe, now four films deep in the main series with multiple spinoffs from Annabelle to The Nun, is known for its chilling scares, it’s the central romance between its paranormal investigators that’s become the franchise’s beating heart. The unwavering loyalty and love between Wilson and Farmiga’s characters as they battle intense demonic enemies and save each other from death, more than once, quickly instilled emotional stakes that only deepened with each film. 

That culminates in Last Rites, where Ed and Lorraine Warren are set to take on their most dangerous case yet: the Smurl family haunting. This time, it’s personal. But for Wilson and Farmiga, it’s a case that brings their journey as one of horror’s favorite couples to a fitting, heartfelt end. And it’s a journey they look back on fondly, though with a little disbelief.

Farmiga reflects on her time as Lorraine with pride and a little shock that a horror franchise with such a sentimental core made such an impact on audiences. “We figured out very early on that the special effects of this one weren’t going to be the ghosts and the scares; it was going to be in the glances between [Wilson] and me,” Farmiga tells BD. “I’m really proud, and I think that there’s just something wildly sexy and romantic about saving each other from possession, from film to film.”

Farmiga continues, “It’s kind of mind-blowing, the formula of this franchise. I mean, that there could be this duo whose idea of intimacy is like Latin chanting, and people eat that up, they gobble that right up. People hankering, ‘Oh, my god, I hope they’re going to kiss between exorcisms.’ It’s such a weird thing that we’ve achieved with these two characters.”

Wilson echoes her sentiments. “Yeah, I think rarely do you do something and have it be in real time that you can feel the weight of it. Coming back, movie after movie, and we’re the same people who approach work the same way, with the same amount of passion and frivolity. But to what you just said, about how it feels to be this favorite horror couple, I think that’s really special. We’re very conscious of that. I think that’s, for lack of a better phrase, it’s cool. When I think of the great, whether it was when Anthony Hopkins did one of the greatest villains in horror movie history. Or when you start talking about those kinds of memorable performances, and it feels like your union, your bond with your co-star has become at least that recognized because of the number of people that have seen these films. I mean, I think that is very special. We wear that with gratitude.”

“For sure,” Farmiga adds. “If I could rewind to 2011 before getting this, and seeing that log line, and seeing the character description to play a demon-hunting soulmate, like, ‘What does that even mean? How are we going to deliver that? What does that entail?’ Who knew that it would honestly be the most emotionally demanding role of my career?“

The Conjuring: Last Rites will release in theaters September 5, 2025.

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