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The Nun 2 hit theaters on September 8, 2023, and was welcomed with mixed critical reviews. However, despite having an official production budget of $38.5 million, it has successfully grossed $88.1 million globally at the box office.
It stars original cast members Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Bonnie Aarons, and newcomers Storm Reid and Anna Popplewell.
The Nun 2, a sequel to The Nun, is set in 1956 France. It has Sister Irene (Farmiga) coming face to face with the demon nun Valak, as they did in the 2018 film.
In The Nun, Maurice Theriault (Bloquet) is possessed by Valak, and the new film continues from there. Valak, played deftly by Bonnie Aarons, has been a recurrent antagonistic character in The Conjuring series and derives its name from a mythical goetic demon, but the resemblance ends there.
Valak in The Nun 2 isn’t the same as the mythical goetic demon
Valak was established as a villain in The Conjuring 2 (2016) as a demonic nun and The Crooked Man. Eventually, The Nun had a cameo in Annabelle: Creation (2017) and went on to have her own spin-offs.
In the films, the character of Valak is seen to have an affinity for snakes. It seeks human possession to escape imprisonment within the Romania-based Cartha monastery.
In the goetic grimoires (textbook of magic dealing with European sorcery), however, Valak is an angelically winged boy who rides on a two-headed dragon. He apparently has the power to find out treasures.
Also spelled as Valac, the demon gets vivid descriptions in scripts like The Lesser Key of Solomon, Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, the Liber Officiorum Spirituum, and the Munich Manual of Demonic Magic.
Valak has different names in all these mentions, such as Volac, Ualac, Valu, Cooler/ Doolas, and Volach. In The Lesser Key of Solomon, Valak has been termed as Grand President of Hell who gives orders to platoons of demonic minions.
The account of him in the 17th-century grimoire reads,
“His Office is to give True Answers of Hidden Treasures, and to tell where Serpents may be seen. The which he will bring unto the Exorciser without any Force or Strength being by him employed. He governeth 38 Legions of Spirits, and his Seal is thus.”
In Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Valak is President Volac and part of the 69 demons that form the script. With time, the fictional character has become a demon to be feared by religious people and children.
Will the reign of Valak continue post The Nun 2?
In The Nun 2, Valak gets soaked by the blood of Christ and bursts into flames, indicating its end, or is it? Reports state that Sister Irene may read a prayer to set Valak on fire. Still, the devilish antagonist has every chance to return to the upcoming installments of The Conjuring series.
Ever since the inception of the epic horror franchise, she has returned repeatedly to interact with the Warrens. So, the character can return in The Conjuring: Last Rites with another revenge plan.
In the movie, which is in the pre-production stage, Valak may pull a well-rounded closure on the characters of the Conjuring and Nun films.
Don't forget to watch The Nun 2, currently running in theaters.
