Taissa talks about returning to 'The Nun' franchise after four years

MUMBAI: Actress Taisaa Farmiga, who is all set to return as Sister Irene in ‘The Nun 2’, has spoken about returning to the franchise after four years. She also revealed what she liked about her character and the script.

The sequel to the hit follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun. Farmiga is joined again by Jonas Bloquet as Maurice, along with Storm Reid as Sister Debra, Anna Popplewell as Kate and Bonnie Aarons (reprising her role from 'The Nun').

“What I really loved about the script is this beautiful partnership and friendship between these two empowered female characters...", says Farmiga as she talks about reprising her role as Sister Irene.

"Storm (Reid) plays Sister Debra, a young woman who doesn't know her place in this world, so she feels like she's lost. And what's so beautiful is that the layers that are written into these characters give an opportunity to play real people. I think it was such a collaborative effort from the very beginning to make sure the characters were real and had true distinct colors and layers.”

“Tropes are not real people. So, I think it was beautiful in the script to be able to play a young woman who's confident and knows what she's doing and doesn't need somebody to tell her what to do. And not only do you have that with Sister Irene, but you also have that with Sister Debra.”

Also Read: It's like a little bit of a throwback to 'Dracula': 'The Nun 2' director

Ask her what she loved about her character and returning to the world of The Nun franchise after four years, Farmiga said: “I feel like denial is a wonderfully terrible tool that a lot of people use, and I definitely think that Irene sort of held on to the expression ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ I think deep down, Irene knew that this couldn't just be it. The connection was too strong. I think Irene also is someone who probably always questions, ‘Is she good enough?’ She's come to accept her gifts to a degree."

“But she was tasked with this enormous thing—to banish a demon. I think absolutely part of her has been terrified every day of these past years that she didn't accomplish what she was supposed to. 4 “It’s been four years since the first film. Irene and Frenchie have definitely gotten older. They're a bit more weathered. I would say that they both come back with a strong sense of self in this movie.”

“There's definitely maturity when you go through something so traumatic. I feel like you either push forward or you kind of recede into yourself. I think Irene had to push forward in the same way that Frenchie did. Irene in the first film, there was a lot of questioning and uncertainty of how she fits into the world.

“I think when we first meet Irene in this movie, she's much stronger—there is an aura of confidence around her. She's still just as kind and sweet as she was in the first movie, but she's lost her naivete.”

Directed by Michael Chaves, ‘The Nun II’, distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is set to open in pan India in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on 7 September 2023.