Here's an unexpected turn of events: according to The Conjuring mastermind James Wan, the franchise's long-gestating The Crooked Man spin-off is no longer in the works at Warner Bros.
Wan announced the news himself in a recent Instagram post, which also offers one helluva look at Javier Botet in the Crooked Man get-up on the Conjuring 2 set:
As you are surely already aware, the constantly-expanding Conjuring Cinematic Universe is one of horror's biggest moneymaking machines. You've got the backbone of the Conjuring franchise (still being dutifully led by stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson), but then you've got all the spin-offs: The Nun (and its forthcoming sequel), The Curse of La Llorona, and three different Annabelle movies. Combined, these films have generated over $2 billion at the worldwide box office. There's no telling what caused the powers that be to backburner The Crooked Man for the time being, but here's hoping that gets worked out sooner rather than later: we haven't spent much time with the character, but he seemed like our kinda weirdo.
Nothing further to report on The Crooked Man at this time, but The Nun 2 and The Conjuring 4 are still very much en route. Stay tuned for updates on all of these projects as they roll in, and do keep your fingers crossed for our friend The Crooked Man in the meantime.
