Michael Chaves

Not to be confused with Michael Chavis.

Michael Chaves
Chaves at South by Southwest 2019
Born	(1984-11-03) November 3, 1984 (age 41)
Occupations	Director screenwriter producer editor visual effects artist
Years active	2009–present

Michael Chaves (born November 3, 1984) is an American filmmaker and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing the horror films The Curse of La Llorona (2019), The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), The Nun II (2023), and The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025). ^{[1] [2]}

Career

Chaves began directing several short films including The Maiden, which won the Best Super Short Horror Film Award at Shriekfest 2016. ^[3] He also created the television series Chase Champion, and directed all of the episodes. ^{[4] [5] [6]} In 2017, he directed additional photography on The Nun (2018), alongside the film's director Corin Hardy. ^[7]

He transitioned to feature-length filmmaking with the horror films The Curse of La Llorona (2019), ^[8] The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), ^[2] The Nun II (2023), ^[9] and The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025), ^[10] all produced by James Wan. The latter three films are the seventh, eighth, and ninth installments of The Conjuring Universe , respectively.

Michael Chaves is currently signed on to direct another horror film, The Reckoning, for Michael Bay, Bradley Fuller, and Andrew Form, under Platinum Dunes, with a script written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. ^[11]

In January 2026, it was announced that Chaves would make his comic-book debut with Corpse Knight for Skybound Entertainment and published by Image Comics. A six-issue miniseries written by Chaves, illustrated by Matthew Roberts, and colored by Rico Renzi, the series follows a young girl named Foy whose father has mysteriously returned from the dead to protect her. The first issue goes on sale April 22 that same year. ^[12]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Executive producer	Notes
2018	The Nun	Additional photography	No	[7]
2019	The Curse of La Llorona	Yes	No
2021	The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It	Yes	No
2023	The Nun II	Yes	No
2025	The Conjuring: Last Rites	Yes	Yes
TBA	The Revenge of La Llorona	No	Yes	Post-production

Music video

Year	Title	Artist	Ref.
2019	"Bury a Friend"	Billie Eilish	[13]

Short film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Editor	VFX
2009	Worst Date Ever	Yes	No	Yes	No
2010	Regen	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2014	Massacre Lake	No	No	No	Yes
	Make Note of Every Sound	Yes	No	No	No
2016	The Maiden	Yes	Yes	No	No

Web series

Year	Title	Director	Writer	VFX	Notes
2010	The Guild	No	No	Yes	2 episodes
2015	Chase Champion	Yes	Yes	No	11 episodes

References

1. Barkan, Jonathan (October 9, 2017). "Linda Cardellini to Take on The Children in James Wan-Produced Feature". Dread Central . Retrieved January 9, 2018.
2. Kit, Borys (October 3, 2018). "'The Conjuring 3' Finds Director With 'Curse of La Llorona' Filmmaker (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved October 3, 2018.
3. "Shriekfest 2016 Winners". Shriekfest . Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
4. "Nickelodeon Launches Nick.com Unique Horizontal Layout Edge to Edge". Business Wire . Berkshire Hathaway. August 4, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
5. Utermohlem, Karl (August 4, 2014). "Welcome to the Wayne: Nickelodeon Debuts First Online-Only Show". Investor Place. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
6. DeSimone, Evan (August 5, 2014). "Nickelodeon Rolls Out its First Digital Only Show". NewMediaRockstars . Retrieved November 27, 2018.
7. Miska, Brad (April 27, 2022). "'The Nun 2' – New Line Prays for a Director and Gets Michael Chaves! [Exclusive]". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
8. Navarro, Meagan (March 16, 2019). "'The Curse of La Llorona' Scares Up Its Own Space in 'The Conjuring' Universe". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
9. D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 24, 2022). "'Aquaman 2' Heads To Christmas 2023, 'Shazam: Fury Of The Gods' Goes To March; HBO Max Pics 'House Party' & 'Evil Dead Rise' Going Theatrical – Warner Bros. Release Date Changes". Deadline. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
10. "'The Conjuring 4' Finds Its Director With Michael Chaves (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
11. Kroll, Justin (October 25, 2016). "Paramount and Platinum Dunes Hire the Writers of 'Saw IV' for Upcoming Project". Variety . Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved November 27, 2018.
12. Kit, Borys (January 14, 2026). "'Conjuring: Last Rites' Filmmaker Michael Chaves Writing Horror Comic 'Corpse Knight' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
13. "Billie Eilish - 'Bury a Friend'". January 30, 2019 – via YouTube.

External links

• Michael Chaves at IMDb