Set Visit: Peter Safran, Madison Iseman & more talk Annabelle Comes Home

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Peter Safran is the president and founder of The Safran Company, a leading Hollywood production company.

Safran's eye for talent and diligent work ethic have made for a prolific body of work that includes mega-hits THE CONJURING and THE CONJURING 2, directed by James Wan and starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as real-life paranormal investigators Ed & Lorraine Warren. Safran also produced THE CONJURING spin-offs: ANNABELLE, which earned over $250 million globablly; its prequel, ANNABELLE: CREATION, which grossed over $300 million; and most recently THE NUN, which earned over $365 million, making it the most successful film in the franchise and pushing the entire CONJURING Universe over $1.57 billion worldwide.

In addition to AQUAMAN, Safran is producing another DC Super Hero film, SHAZAM!, which teams him again with ANNABELLE: CREATION director David F. Sandberg. SHAZAM! recently nabbed a $57 million debut at the box office last weekend, thereby cementing Safran as a legend in Hollywood. Safran is currently in production on the third ANNABELLE film, which is set to release on June 28th, 2019. JoBlo was lucky enough to visit the set of ANNABELLE COMES HOME last November, where we chatted with the producer himself about Ed and Lorraine's going up against Annabelle on their own home turf, where the latest installment takes place within the CONJURING timeline, and the likelihood of James Wan returning to direct another CONJURING entry. Here's some highlights from our conversation.

Typically, in the CONJURING franchise, Ed and Lorraine Warren are present, but their story usually takes a backseat to whichever family they happen to be helping through a crisis at the moment. However, in the aptly titled ANNABELLE COMES HOME, the infamous doll brings the fight straight to the Warrens doorstep. When asked where the inspiration came from to finally tell a story about Annabelle versus the Warrens, Safran had this to say: "It’s less Ed and Lorraine and more Judy. But the idea bringing it back to the Warren family was something that we've been toying with for a while. The parents we had, the Hodgsons, we taken it all away to Romania, totally different vibe and feel from THE NUN. And we just liked the idea of bringing it closer to home, back to ordinary people and extraordinary circumstances which was kind of the touchstone for it. And it just really made sense." He continues, "We always loved the idea of the artifact room being the potential source of more stories."

Safran explains that the idea of actually setting a film around that was something again that he, Gary Dauberman and James Wan had on their minds for a while. According to the renowned producer, the gang simply thought this was the opportunity, that the third ANNABELLE movie was their best shot to really raise the stakes. "THE CONJURING is so iconic when it opens up on the half face of Annabelle, we just always liked the idea of, what happened after they left there? We see them taking the doll, what happens? It was actually something other people had asked us in the past as well. We just thought we will explore that story."

ANNABELLE COMES HOME will take place immediately after THE CONJURING and before the events of THE CONJURING 2. "We wanted it to be close in time to the prologue of The Conjuring where they take the doll. So we knew it was going to be somewhere in that range". Although there are a few Easter eggs scattered here and there for the observant horror fan to pick up, this is still very much a standalone film, and can be enjoyed without having to watch the previous entries.

As for whether or not James Wan might return in a directing capacity, Safran says it's possible, but he very much doubts it will happen. "My instinct is that he won’t. I think he really left everything out on the field with Conjuring 2. Just being by his side as he made that movie, I feel that he put everything that he'd learned up to that point into that film". Although it may be a bit disappointing for longtime genre fans who have come to know Wan as one of the modern day horror masters, it does make sense with Wan recently helming the DCEU film AQUAMAN. He's just a talented filmmaker who's finally getting a few more toys in his sandbox. "I would be surprised if he ended up doing another one, but you never know. Guys like James, for him scares, it's in their blood. They need an outlet for it at some point. There is something very compelling about sitting there just wanting to scare the shit out of people."

Madison Iseman booked her first television role on the hit ABC series MODERN FAMILY as 'Sam', the love interest for Rico Rodriguez's character 'Manny'. She can be seen in the films JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE alongside Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black and Kevin Hart, as well as in the Sony film GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN, and in the Halloween-themed film TALES OF HALLOWEEN on Netflix. In ANNABELLE COMES HOME, Iseman plays Mary Ellen, Judy Warren's babysitter and longtime friend. She, Katie Sarife and Mckenna Grace all cite THE SHINING as their all time favorite horror movie.

Iseman describes the character of Mary Ellen as this very pure, seemingly perfect, idealistic girl. As someone who is naturally very put together, she has her whole life planned out, right in front of her. According to Iseman, when everything goes wrong, Mary Ellen has an interesting way of dealing with it. Her main objective is to protect Judy at all costs. When asked about her character's relationship to the Warrens, Iseman replies, "Mary Ellen is very close with the Warrens, so she feels a huge responsibility, especially once everything kind of goes array." She says, "Mary Ellen has been babysitting her, forever. She’s very, very close with the Warrens. There’s kind of more of a back story that goes into the story, once we get more into it".

Katie Sarife can currently be seen as a lead character in the YouTubeRed original series YOUTH & CONSEQUENCES. She has appeared in the Sony TV/Lifetime MOW CLEVELAND ABDUCTION opposite Taryn Manning, where she played the real-life character Gina DeJesus. Sarife was also cast as a lead in the NBC pilot CURSE OF FUENTES WOMEN written by Silvio Horta. In addition, she appeared as a recurring character in the Disney Channel series GIRL MEETS WORLD as well as the 200th episode of the CW hit series SUPERNATURAL. In ANNABELLE COMES HOME, Sarife plays Daniela, the best friend of Mary Ellen.

Daniela is a troubled young girl who is dealing with the death of her father. In the midst of some serious soul searching, her tragic loss might possibly make her more of a target for the evil supernatural spirits that lurk within the confines of the Warren's archival room.

When asked to describe her character, Sarife reveals that Daniela is "best friends with Mary Ellen, who is Madison's character. I feel like she's definitely the more outgoing of the two. She kind of pushes her out of her comfort zone. And then she is really interested in the afterlife because she had an experience with a lost loved one. So that kind of is where that stems from. She's got a lot of heart."

ANNABELLE COMES HOME on June 28th, 2019.

READ MORE FROM OUR SET VISIT:

EVERYTHING WE LEARNED FROM THE SET VISIT OF ANNABELLE COMES HOME

INTERVIEWS WITH DIRECTOR GARY DAUBERMAN AND STAR