Do you have to watch the first Nun movie before The Nun 2?

The Nun 2 is set to haunt theaters on Sept. 8, 2023. But if you are new to the Conjuring franchise or missed the first movie, can you still watch the latest horror or should you catch up?

The first installment of The Nun features Tessa Farmiga as Sister Irene, a young novitiate on the threshold of her final vows to become a nun. When the Vatican sends Father Burke (Demián Bichir) and Sister Irene to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania, they soon realize that what is happening there is bigger than they could have ever imagined.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the 2018 movie has a rotten score of 24% from critics and 35% from audiences, so it’s clearly not a favorite. Still, fans of The Conjuring franchise are extremely loyal and supportive. That said, even though we’re not all jumping in excitement, you can bet we’ll be in theaters Sept. 8 to watch The Nun 2. 

Another reason for fans to watch, is that we will learn how Ed and Lorraine Warren connect to this story. The demon featured in The Nun movies, is Valak, a being that appears in The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, and Annabelle: Creation. It should be interesting to learn more about Valak and how the Warren’s came into play. But, if you’re a new fan, is watching the first movies in the series necessary to understand The Nun 2?

Do you have to watch the first Nun movie before The Nun 2?

Honestly, no. I don’t think so. These movies are not tough to understand. If you go in blind, you’ll be just fine! However, I do recommend you go to theaters with at least some knowledge about what you’re going to see.

To fully understand The Nun 2, there are two must-see movies to watch. The first, is The Conjuring, of course, the 2016 movie that started it all. Meet the main players of the franchise and get a sneak peek of the horrifying demon. Lastly, we highly recommend you watch 2018’s The Nun. Again, you do not have to, but, at the very least, do watch The Nun to get a better understanding of the sequel.

Where to watch The Conjuring and The Nun online

The good thing is that you have plenty of time to watch both movies as we are still a few days away from the release of The Nun 2 (at the time of this writing). Both The Nun and The Conjuring are streaming on Max. It’s great to have both movies in one place as that’s not always the case with so many streamers out there.

The Nun 2 also stars Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell, and others. It is rated R for violent content and terror.