The First Omen director Arkasha Stevenson recently opened up about the possibility for more installments in the long-running horror franchise beyond the upcoming prequel.
Speaking with Screen Rant, Stevenson — who makes her feature directorial debut with The First Omen — revealed her hopes for the future of The Omen franchise. “There’s so many questions and so many adventures in the Omen universe, and it’s hard to work on a film and not think about all of these tangent stories, so yeah, there’s like a spiderweb in my brain,” she shared, which strongly suggests that she might already have ideas for a sequel. “I hope the Omen franchise keeps expanding because it’s one of my favorites.”
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The First Omen serves as a prequel to 1976’s The Omen and is the sixth overall installment in the horror film series. Following the critical and commercial success of The Omen, three sequels were released that continued the story of Damien Thorn — 1978’s Damien: Omen II, 1981’s Omen III: The Final Conflict, and 1991’s Omen IV: The Awakening. The franchise was then rebooted in 2006 with a remake of the original film, also titled The Omen, before being reimagined as a short-lived series, Damien, on A&E.
The Most Terrifying Movie of 2024
Nell Tiger Free leads the cast of The First Omen as Margaret Daino, an American woman sent to work at a church in Rome who uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist. The supernatural horror film also stars Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy. The first trailer was released in January, followed by another in March that teased The First Omen as being the “most terrifying movie of the year.”
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The First Omen Was Almost Rated NC-17
The First Omen producer David Goyer recently shared how the R-rated prequel was almost stuck with an NC-17 rating, explaining how the movie’s birthing scene was apparently too intense for the MPA and required multiple edits before being handed an R-rating. “The movie, by its nature, deals with female body horror, and I do think there’s a double standard,” Goyer said. “That was really interesting when we were negotiating with the ratings board. I think there is more permissiveness when dealing with male protagonists, particularly in body horror. That birthing scene is super intense, I also have three kids and have been at their births. It’s intense!”
Stevenson also fought hard to keep the scene in The First Omen, viewing it as an important moment in the movie. “The horror in that situation is how dehumanized that woman is,” the director explained. “It’s the theme of our film. It’s the female body being violated from the inside outwards. If we were going to talk about female body horror, we were going to talk about forced reproduction, and we have to be able to show the female body in a non-sexualized light. I’m very proud of this shot.”
The First Omen opens in theaters on April 5.
Source: Screen Rant
The First Omen
A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
- Director
- Arkasha Stevenson
- Release Date
- April 5, 2024
- Cast
- Ralph Ineson , Bill Nighy , Nell Tiger Free , sonia braga
- Writers
- Tim Smith , Arkasha Stevenson , Keith Thomas , Ben Jacoby , David Seltzer
