Director James Wan certainly opened up a can of worms when creating the first Conjuring film. In setting the groundwork for the doll Annabelle and the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, he created a world primed for exploration. 

This world was first taken advantage of in the spinoff film Annabelle, which delved into the backstory behind the doll in The Conjuring. Unfortunately, the movie itself was pretty terrible, relying on cheap jump scares and tired horror tropes — a far cry from the film from which it spun. Though, while I disliked the movie, it apparently reverberated with audiences, and managed to snag over $250 million off its $6.5 million budget. Needless to say, a sequel was to be expected, and given my thoughts on the first movie, one would expect I’d be rolling my eyes at the thought of a sequel.

However, coming off the heels of the creatively successful Conjuring 2, audiences and critics may be more open to the idea of an Annabelle sequel than they’ve ever been before. In addition, taking the helm from Annabelle director John R. Leonetti is David S. Sandberg, the man behind the critically-acclaimed horror film Lights Out. He’s a more-than-worthy successor, one who could hopefully keep up with the high bar James Wan keeps setting with his horror movies.

Earlier today, Sandberg took to Twitter to tease a behind-the-scenes look of the film, and a first look at Annabelle (still looking as creepy as ever). Check out the photo below:

As you can see from the caption, we can expect an announcement teaser for Annabelle 2 tomorrow, so be sure to check back in with LRM tomorrow!

Below is the synopsis for the film:

“Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a dollmaker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the dollmaker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.”

What do you think? Are you excited for an Annabelle 2, or did all your hopes and dreams die with the first Annabelle? Let us know in the comments down below!

Annabelle 2 hits theaters on May 19, 2017.

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SOURCE: David F. Sandberg (via Collider)

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