In a fantastic piece of update for horror movie buffs and more particularly admirers of the cult 1976 supernatural horror film ‘The Omen’, the film’s prequel titled ‘The First Omen’ is moving forward and will now reportedly (via Deadline) be directed by Arkasha Stevenson. The much-anticipated prequel was first announced in the year 2016 but since then, there has been no major update, until now. However, at that time, Antonio Campos was in talks to direct the prequel film.
‘The First Omen’ will be Arkasha Stevenson’s feature film directorial debut. Previously, the filmmaker has directed episodes of television series such as ‘Legion’ and ‘Channel Zero’, amongst others.
The parent film ‘The Omen’ (1976) was helmed by blockbuster Hollywood filmmaker Richard Donner (Director – Superman, Lethal Weapon, The Twilight Zone). The film featured legendary actor Gregory Peck as an American diplomat Robert Thorn who secretly adopts a child named Damien. But years later, when the Thorn family experience some strange and shocking incidents happening around them, the father realizes that his adopted child is born out of Satan and is an evil incarnate.
The critical and commercial success of ‘The Omen’ resulted in three sequels namely ‘Damien: Omen II’ (1978), ‘Omen III: The Final Conflict’ (1981), and ‘Omen IV: The Awakening’ (1991) followed by a reboot titled ‘The Omen’ (2006).
However, unlike the original film, the sequels and the reboot were unable to fetch similar acclaim from audiences and critics alike. So now, it would be interesting to see whether the prequel ‘The First Omen’ will be able to do justice to the widely admired parent film ‘The Omen’. The prequel will ostensibly explore the origin story of its main antagonist Damien.