Taissa Farmiga on filming The Nun II: “It’s an extremely special thing to be able to film on location where the story is actually set”

Taissa Farmiga returns as Sister Irene, joined again by Jonas Bloquet as Maurice, along with Storm Reid as Sister Debra, Anna Popplewell as Kate and Bonnie Aarons.

By Monica Yadav -

September 4, 2023 - 4:21 PM IST

Warner Bros. Pictures is all set to bring the horror thriller The Nun II, the next chapter in the story of The Nun to the big screens on September 7. Directed by Michael Chaves, The Nun II is the highest-grossing entry in the juggernaut $2 billion The Conjuring Universe, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary.

Taissa Farmiga on filming The Nun II: “It’s an extremely special thing to be able to film on location where the story is actually set”

1956 – France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun. Taissa Farmiga returns as Sister Irene, joined again by Jonas Bloquet as Maurice, along with Storm Reid as Sister Debra, Anna Popplewell as Kate and Bonnie Aarons (reprising her role from The Nun), surrounded by an ensemble cast of international talent.

Talking about their location for the film shoot, Farmiga says, “It’s an extremely special thing to be able to film on location where the story is actually set. And we have been lucky enough to be here in the South of France, in Aix-en-Provence, in Tarascon, Martigues and Marseille… an out-of-this-world experience. I think that you're obviously going to give the expected dark and haunted feel, but they're also juxtaposed with these beautiful landscapes and countryside. I think that being able to film in real tangible locations, there's an energy that sometimes is hard to recreate on stage. We were able to find, even in beautiful Southern France, locations that give us that grit and that eerie feel. Aix-en-Provence, which seems like such a sweet city, we found this school that the art department were able to transform. It's hard because you transform—you’re also using what's already there, but enhancing the feeling of this old, rundown abbey and turning it into a school, but not freshening it up. It’s just the balance of it… I think that we're lucky to be able to have the location and such a talented crew and art department to make our sets look so hauntingly beautiful.”

Delving further to reveal the impact of shooting at the actual location and recreating the 50s era, Farmiga reveals, “I absolutely felt like we were immersed in the ‘50s in France, especially filming in these little side streets in Tarascon. The alleyways are small and compact, so the crew’s all kind of tucked away to one side. And when they call ‘action,’ all it is, is people in their costumes running by. And everything's just set up so beautifully—it’s lit beautifully, and the level of smoke is perfect, and it just creates the perfect atmosphere. And yeah, for me, it's fun, because Sister Irene has taken her vows in the last movie. She's officially a nun. She's got her nun garb on. And that's what she does. But it's fun to be around and see the outfits of everybody else and really be transported back in time.”

Michael Chaves (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) directs, from a screenplay by Ian Goldberg & Richard Naing and Akela Cooper with a story by Cooper, based on characters created by James Wan & Gary Dauberman.

New Line Cinema presents an Atomic Monster / Safran Company production, The Nun II, distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is set to open in pan India in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on 7 September 2023.