After summoning the Enfield Poltergeist with last year’s hit horror sequel The Conjuring 2, New Line Cinema has all hands at the pump in anticipation of Annabelle 2, David F. Sandberg’s long-awaited continuation that’s set to usher that titular, downright terrifying puppet back into the limelight.
Sandberg, who wowed moviegoers and critics alike with the impressive Lights Out, is directing from a script penned by Gary Dauberman. Peter Safran and James Wan – one of the founding fathers of the Conjuring film series – are attached to produce, with the official Annabelle 2 synopsis teasing all sorts of horrors for a dollmaker and his unsuspecting family.
Following the untimely death of their youngest daughter, our protagonists open their doors to the local nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage. What follows is a series of unfortunate, downright horrifying events, and you’ll be able to get a sense of what to expect from today’s all-new image. Embedded above, the pic finds Annabelle perched on the side of a bed – much to the horror of our human onlooker – and we imagine this is taken from the beginning of Sandberg’s sequel where the mannequin begins to concoct its demonic plan.
With Stephanie Sigman set to take point as Sister Charlotte – one of the poor souls haunted by Annabelle – the sequel’s casting docket also features Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson, Philippa Coulthard, Grace Fulton, Lou Lou Safran, Samara Lee, Tayler Buck, Anthony LaPaglia and Miranda Otto of Homeland fame.
Originally set to go up against Dwayne Johnson and his Baywatch crew in May, New Line Cinema has scheduled Annabelle 2 for theatrical release on August 11.