Sometimes, a small supporting character in a film manages to steal the show out from under the featured leads, and end up the topic of conversation for many after leaving the theater. Such was the case with James Wan’s 2013 demon possession smash The Conjuring, which made Warner Bros. truckloads of money, and kicked off a franchise that’s soon to grow to four films strong. In this case though, the supporting character to capture attention wasn’t even a human being, but was instead a (normally) inanimate object.

The object in question was Annabelle, a noticeably creepy doll that’s fear factor was multiplied by the fact that it happened to be possessed by a particularly nasty demon. Lead characters Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, respectively) are shown acquiring Annabelle for safekeeping at the beginning of The Conjuring, and the doll returns later in the film to endanger their daughter. Such was the fervor surrounding Annabelle, that she quickly received her own self-titled spinoff movie, released in 2014.

While Annabelle (2014) hauled in a ton of cash - over $250 million worldwide on a budget of $6.5 million, to be exact - critics were far from kind, and even the horror fan community itself seemed to collectively decide that the film wasn’t very good. One wonders if Warner Bros. took that negativity to heart, as upcoming follow-up Annabelle: Creation seems to be doing its best to try to mostly ignore the previous installment, taking the story back even further in time to show moviegoers how the unsettling doll was first created. WB has released the first full trailer for the film, and it promises lots of supernatural malevolence. Check it out above.

Original Annabelle director John R. Leonetti didn’t come back to helm Annabelle: Creation, with those duties now being handled by rising horror filmmaker David F. Sandberg. Sandberg made a big impression last summer with his debut feature Lights Out, an adaptation of his own prior short film that captivated the internet for awhile. However, handling scripting duties this time out is still Gary Dauberman, who penned the first Annabelle, and has gone on to write Andy Muschetti’s upcoming theatrical adaptation of IT.

As one might imagine considering Annabelle: Creation’s somewhat odd status as a prequel to a prequel, the film features an all-new cast of people set to be menaced by the titular doll. One thing that remains unclear is just how extensively - if at all - the story of Annabelle: Creation will tie into that of the first Annabelle, which the premise of Creation seems to heavily contradict. Either way though, as long as it’s scary enough, fans will probably be willing to look past any nagging continuity gripes.

Source: Warner Bros.

  • Anabelle: Creation Release Date: 2017-08-11