The Conjuring Universe is the new ‘MonsterVerse’ ... ‘The Accountant 2’ will not reveal Bruce Wayne's tax returns...
Who knew a horror franchise comprising of two films and a spin-off, along with a film about a highly functioning accountant would yield Warner Bros. Pictures over $1 billion worldwide?
Annabelle - Demon Nun - Crooked Man - Oh My!
If you answered The Conjuring (and The Accountant) pat yourselves on the back. If you're a fan of the series, it's hard to believe less than four years ago, Warner Bros. Pictures The Conjuring would go on to gross $318 million worldwide (against a $20 million budget) and has since produced a sequel and spun-off a stand-alone feature Annabelle for a combined gross of $897 million worldwide. But why stop there?
Deadline first reported that New Line will move forward on its third iteration of the “Conjuring” franchise with “The Conjuring 3” and will be distributed by Warner Bros. The Conjuring 2 screenwriter, David Leslie Johnson will pen the script for "The Conjuring 3" but the film will move forward with James Wan serving as producer, not director. "The Conjuring 3" marks the seventh film in the Conjuring [monster]universe following its first two films plus Annabelle, and franchise spin-offs - Annabelle: Creation (August 11) directed by David Sandberg (Lights Out), The Nun (July 13, 2017) - directed by Corin Hardy (The Hallow), starring Demián Bichir and Taissa Farmiga, and The Crooked Man (currently in development).
Though no plot details have surfaced it’s likely "The Conjuring 3" will revolve around the case files of paranormal researchers Lorraine and Ed Warren with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprising their roles. More to come!
The Accountant 2 story line will not feature Bruce Wayne..
But who wouldn't want to see The Accountant's highly functional autistic CPA "Chris Wolff" yield Bruce Wayne millions of dollars in tax returns? Me. Also, who would win in a battle of brains vs. brawn - The Accountant or The Batman? Perhaps we'll let Twitter decide that one.
In somewhat unexpected sequel news, Variety reported Warner Bros. has plans for ‘The Accountant 2’ and will feature the return of bring-your-bag-lunch-to-work, military-trained accountant/assassin "Chris Wolff," starring Ben Affleck.
If you follow the money trail, this news shouldn’t come as a total surprise as 2016's The Accountant yielded a rather modest $86 million domestically for a worldwide total of $155 million on a $44 million budget. The Accountant’s director Gavin O'Connor and writer Bill Dubuque are also currently in talks to return for "The Accountant 2".
Fresh off the under performing Live By Night, Affleck is currently penning the script for The Batman directed by War for the Planet of the Apes director, Matt Reeves. Next up we'll see Ben reprise Bruce Wayne/Batman in the Justice League scheduled for release November 17, 2017.
In light of this news, I will most likely be forced to re-visit The Accountant with a slightly different and less cynical lens. But how about you?
