Fear is becoming a habit for Taissa Farmiga in first look at The Nun II

At the start of The Nun II, the 1950s-set film set in the Conjuring universe, viewers catch up with Taissa Farmiga's Sister Irene, who escaped the clutches of the demon Valak at the end of 2018's The Nun.

"She's living this anonymous life in this convent in Italy," says filmmaker Michael Chaves, who previously directed 2021's The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. "She had this traumatic experience, this huge adventure, and now she wants to live the life of service."

As seen in EW's exclusive first look at The Nun sequel, that plan is thwarted by the Demon Nun, the terrifying incarnation of Valak, who is now possessing Irene's pal Maurice, portrayed by Jonas Bloquet.

"Maurice made his way to France and he's working at this boarding school as kind of a handyman," says Chaves. "He has a friendship and a flirtation with one of the teachers there, and you can see him starting to mature, so that's where our characters start out. But we know from the first film that there's something terrible inside of him, that Valak escaped within him, and events pull Irene back on this collision course with her old friend."

New cast members include Storm Reid from The Last of Us and The Invisible Man. Chaves describes her character as "a young novitiate, just like Taissa played in the first film."

"She is a nun in training and she's debating about whether she's going to take her vows," he continues. "She's at this pivotal point in her life, and she gets pulled along with Irene on this mission, on this journey, hunting down Maurice through these horrible events that happen."

Actress Bonnie Aarons, who originated the role of the Demon Nun in 2016's James Wan-directed The Conjuring 2 and reprised the role in Corin Hardy's The Nun, once more returns to inhabit the habit.

"Bonnie's incredible," notes Chaves. "She can really turn it on, she really knows what's scary, and she's just so easy. It's not like she's always in this dark Nun persona, she's not the Method Nun."

And, yes, the Demon Nun brings along some of her visage-less compadres from the previous movie.

"The faceless nuns are back," confirms Chaves. "That was a fan favorite and also became part of the marketing campaign of the first film. So they're definitely back in the film. I don't want to spoil anything else [about them]."

The Nun ended with cameo appearances by Taissa's sister Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the stars of The Conjuring movies. Chaves teases that his film will also connect to the wider cinematic universe.

"Anyone who's a fan of it knows the timeline and this is definitely part of the timeline," says the filmmaker. "There's a lot of cool stuff in it. I honestly cannot wait until it comes out so I can just unload all the little Easter eggs that we've peppered through the movie."

The Nun II will release in theaters on Sept. 8.

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