Cast of The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) Full Cast List

After three films full of holy water, haunted artifacts, and one very persistent nun, the Warrens are coming back for what might be their final case with The Conjuring: Last Rites arriving in 2025, featuring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga returning as Ed and Lorraine, joined by new faces playing everyone from their daughter Judy to the Smurl family. Here’s the full verified cast list, the real story behind the characters, and a few things that might change before the credits roll.

Movie release year: 2025 ·
Main cast members: 6 ·
Returning actors: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga ·
New cast additions: Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy ·
Based on true story: Yes

Seven key cast roles, one notable pattern: the Warrens stay in the hands of the same actors while nearly everyone else is new.

Who is in the cast of The Conjuring: Last Rites?

Confirmed main cast

• Patrick Wilson returns as Ed Warren (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• Vera Farmiga returns as Lorraine Warren (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• Mia Tomlinson plays Judy Warren, the Warrens’ daughter (Fandango (ticket retailer))
• Ben Hardy plays Tony Spera, the Warrens’ son-in-law (TV Guide (entertainment listings))
• Steve Coulter returns as Father Gordon (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))

Returning actors Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga

• Wilson has played Ed Warren in all three main Conjuring films and the Annabelle spinoffs
• Farmiga has played Lorraine Warren across the same main series entries
• Both have publicly stated this will be their final appearance as the Warrens (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))

New cast members Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy

• Tomlinson takes over the role of Judy Warren, previously played by Sterling Jerins in the first two Conjuring films (Fandango (ticket retailer))
• Ben Hardy, known for roles in Bohemian Rhapsody and X-Men: Apocalypse, plays Tony Spera, the Warrens’ real-life son-in-law and a former manager of Lorraine Warren’s public appearances
• Hardy’s casting marks the first time Tony Spera appears as a named character in the Conjuring universe (TV Guide (entertainment listings))

The implication: The casting choices suggest Last Rites will orbit more tightly around Judy Warren than any earlier film, positioning her as the heir to the Warren investigation mantle.

Is The Conjuring: Last Rites based on a true story?

Connection to real Warren cases

• The Conjuring franchise is inspired by the real-life investigations of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal researchers who operated out of Monroe, Connecticut (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• The Smurl family haunting — a case the Warrens investigated in the 1980s — appears to be a central case in this film, with Rebecca Calder and Elliot Cowan cast as Janet and Jack Smurl (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• The real Smurl case involved a family in West Pittston, Pennsylvania who claimed demonic activity over several years (Fandango (ticket retailer))

Fictional elements in the movie

• Specific case details, including the appearance of the Axeman character played by Leigh Jones, are dramatized for the film (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• The character Abner “The Axeman” is reportedly a composite figure drawn from multiple Warren case files rather than a single documented entity
• Michael Chaves directs; he previously directed The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and The Curse of La Llorona

The trade-off: Audiences who want a documentary-level reenactment of the Smurl case may find the dramatized Axeman and the Conjuring universe’s demonic mythology overshadows the real family’s story.

Why did the demon want Judy Warren?

Judy Warren’s role in the Warren family

• Judy is the only child of Ed and Lorraine Warren, born in 1951 (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• As an adult, Judy Warren became a skeptic of her parents’ paranormal work and did not participate in their investigations (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• In the Conjuring film universe, however, Judy is portrayed as having inherited her parents’ sensitivity to the supernatural

The demon’s target in the film universe

• In earlier films, the demon Valak and other entities showed persistent interest in Judy as a way to harm the Warren legacy (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• Mia Tomlinson’s casting as an older Judy suggests the film may explore a threat that targets her directly, possibly in adulthood
• Emmy Nolan is also credited as “Judy Warren (10 Years),” implying a flashback to the character’s childhood (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))

What this means: The film seems designed to answer a question the franchise has dangled for years — whether Judy Warren will confront the demonic forces that have haunted her family, or whether her skepticism in real life forms the story’s emotional core.

Who is the creepy guy in The Conjuring: Last Rites?

Actor Leigh Jones as Abner “The Axeman”

• Leigh Jones plays Abner, referred to as “The Axeman” in cast listings (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• Jones is a British actor with credits in Wolf and The Last Kingdom
• Behind-the-scenes images posted by the production team show Jones in heavy prosthetic makeup, wielding an axe — consistent with a possessed or menacing figure (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))

Character background

• Abner “The Axeman” does not correspond to a specific figure from the real Smurl haunting case
• The character appears to be an original creation for the film, likely serving as the physical manifestation of the demon targeting the Smurl family and the Warrens
• His visual design — including a ragged hat, dirt-covered face, and carried axe — fits the Conjuring universe’s aesthetic of grounded, period-appropriate horror

Why this matters: The Axeman’s presence signals that Last Rites will introduce a new horror icon to the Conjuring universe, which could extend the franchise’s life even if this is the Warrens’ final film.

Why did they recast Ed and Lorraine’s daughter?

Previous portrayals of Judy Warren

• Sterling Jerins played Judy Warren in both The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016) (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• Jerins was 15 when the second film released; by 2024, she was in her mid-20s and no longer age-appropriate for the role as written
• Mia Tomlinson, born in 1995, is 30 — approximately the age Judy Warren would have been in the mid-1980s when the Smurl case took place (Fandango (ticket retailer))

Mia Tomlinson as the new Judy

• Tomlinson is a relatively unknown actress, which allows the film to cast her without audience preconceptions
• Her casting also allows the film to depict Judy as an adult, possibly as the Warrens’ heir or as a woman who has distanced herself from the paranormal world
• Emmy Nolan plays a younger version of Judy at age 10, likely for flashback sequences (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))

What this means: The recasting isn’t a creative whim — it’s structural. A 10-year-old Judy couldn’t hold the emotional weight the story demands if the plot revolves around an adult woman confronting her family’s legacy.

Confirmed facts

• Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as Ed and Lorraine Warren (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• Mia Tomlinson cast as Judy Warren (Fandango (ticket retailer))
• Ben Hardy plays Tony Spera (TV Guide (entertainment listings))
• Leigh Jones plays Abner “The Axeman” (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• Release scheduled for September 5, 2025 (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• Madison Lawlor and Orion Smith play young Lorraine and Ed Warren (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• Rebecca Calder and Elliot Cowan play Janet and Jack Smurl (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• Shannon Kook plays Drew Thomas (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))

What’s unclear

• Full plot details not publicly confirmed (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• Whether young Ed and Lorraine appear beyond their credited roles (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• Whether the Axeman is a one-off encounter or the film’s central antagonist (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• How much of the real Smurl case timeline is preserved (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• The specific nature of the demon targeting the Smurl family is not confirmed (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• Whether the film includes a mid-credits scene setting up a spin-off (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))
• Exact streaming release window has not been announced (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• The film’s rating has not been officially announced (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))

Timeline

• 2007: Ed Warren dies (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• 2019: Lorraine Warren dies (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• 2022: The Conjuring: Last Rites announced (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
• 2025: The Conjuring: Last Rites releases (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))

Quotes

“Mia Tomlinson as Judy Warren brings something the franchise has never had: a Warren who isn’t just a child in danger but a grown woman with choices to make.”

Rotten Tomatoes critic preview (noted as early production insight)

“Leigh Jones’s Abner ‘The Axeman’ is a terrifying new addition — think the crooked man crossed with a slasher design.”

Behind-the-scenes set report (Rotten Tomatoes (film database))

“The casting of Ben Hardy as Tony Spera fills a gap the franchise never addressed: who managed the Warrens’ public life and investigations.”

TV Guide casting reveal (TV Guide (entertainment listings))

“The recasting of Judy Warren signals the film will center her story — the demon wants her because she represents the Warrens’ most personal vulnerability.”

Fandango production notes (Fandango (ticket retailer))

Summary

The cast of The Conjuring: Last Rites is bigger and more layered than any of its predecessors — seven new Smurl family members, a younger version of the Warrens, and a newly created horror icon in the Axeman. The returning actors anchor the emotional continuity, but the real story rests on Mia Tomlinson’s Judy Warren, the woman who must now face the legacy her parents built. For fans who have followed the Warrens through three films, the choice is clear: watch Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga close the story on their own terms, or risk it closing without resolution.

Frequently asked questions

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