The hit horror film "Annabelle" is starting its own franchise and has been picked up for a sequel itself.

"Annabelle" was itself a prequel to the mega hit horror film "The Conjuring." But it also served as a spinoff to that film. According to Variety, "Annabelle" had so much success that it has officially been greenlit for a direct sequel.

The title character, the Annabelle doll, made its first appearance in the 2013 film "The Conjuring," which was directed by horror film maestro James Wan ("Furious 7," "Insidious").

In "The Conjuring," Annabelle was a doll possessed by a malevolent spirit that was trying to get invited into a woman who thought it was just a harmless ghost. But the story of Annabelle was narrated by the Warrens in what some describe as the rising action for the film's main theme, which was the possession of the Perron home.

Although the doll did play another major role in that film, the storyline for it seemed to be wrapped up. Due to the film's overwhelming success as an R-rated horror film, Wan decided to tackle Annabelle's story in a prequel.

Now that the prequel has also achieved such tremendous success, the studio has decided to green-light a direct sequel to that film, which diverges it from "The Conjuring" franchise and sets up its own spinoff franchise.

"Annabelle" was released in 2014 and produced on a $6.5 million budget. It starred Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton and Alfre Woodard.

The film went on to gross more than $250 million worldwide. It was directed by John R. Leonetti and produced by Wan and Peter Safaran.

The film's writer Gary Dauberman will be returning to write the sequel and Wan will also be involved in the project. There has been no word yet as to when production will start or when the film will be released.