Turns out we administered Last Rites too soon. Just last week, The Conjuring: Last Rites director Michael Chaves declared the franchise to be done. “This is the final chapter,” he said. “It’s the last one. There’s no other Conjuring movies. It is absolutely the end.”

And yet, reliable insider Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that a Conjuring prequel is in the works. According to Kit, Rodrigue Huart is in talks to direct the film, which doesn’t yet have a name. And why, you might ask, would Warner Bros and New Line Cinema reverse a course they so strongly proclaimed as set? The second half of Kit’s tweet points to the answer: “This is a go movie for New Line, especially after LAST RITES has now grossed almost half a BILLION dollars ($487M to be more precise).”

Sacrificing principles for the sake of money? Well, The Conjuring franchise is about Ed and Lorraine Warren, two real-world paranormal investigators repeatedly and credibly accused of scamming the people who needed their help. When portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, the Warrens are a loving couple, deep in their faith and devotion to one another, which makes them unique heroes in a horror franchise. It’s no surprise that people would flock to see their adventures, even after James Wan moved on from The Conjuring following its first sequel and left it in the much-lesser hands of Chaves.

Of course, The Conjuring hasn’t been all about Wan, or even the Warrens. The series has spun out into a successful franchise, with movies focused on killer doll Annabelle, the Nun, and, even the monster from Mexican folklore La Llorona. The Warrens may be connected to all of these films, but they aren’t the center.

Which is good news for New Line’s future plans. Presumably, The Last Rites was the final outing for Ed and Lorraine as played by Wilson and Farmiga. But The Conjuring begins with the duo well into their paranormal career, with plenty of cases left unexplored. In fact, Last Rites flashes back to an earlier point in the couple’s relationship, in which Orion Smith and Madison Lawlor play a younger version of the Warrens, during the birth of their daughter Judy.

It’s likely that the prequel will involve those younger Warrens, and while Smith and Lawlor do resemble Wilson and Farmiga (more than Wilson and Farmiga resemble the actual Warrens), they may not have the name recognition to carry a franchise. Then again, Rodrigue Huart, whom Kit identifies as a possible director, has only one feature credit to his name, having otherwise done shorts and TV episodes. Perhaps New Line will go for fresh faces all around and rely on the Conjuring brand to draw eyeballs.

Frankly, it’s hard to surmise where The Conjuring is going next. If watching these movies have told us anything, its that lies and misdirections often come when someone—or, in this case, something returns from the dead.

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