40 years ago, The Omen freaked out out moviegoers everywhere with its story of Damien Thorn, young child who was actually the Antichrist. Since then, various sequels and even a remake followed, but none have reached anything close to the same level of success as the original. Now, 10 years after the last entry, The Omen world is being revisited, but this time around, they’re going back in time to tell a prequel tale.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox is negotiating to have indie director Antonio Campos helm the prequel, which will be called The First Omen. Ben Jacoby wrote the script, while David Goyer and Kevin Turen will produce via their film company Phantom Four. While this won’t be the first time a beloved horror/thriller movie has gotten its own prequel (I’m looking at you, Hannibal Rising), the decision to make a movie set before The Omen is an odd one, considering that the first movie was an origin tale that covered all its bases.
The 1976 movie starred Gregory Peck as Robert Thorn, a diplomat who secretly adopts a newborn boy to replace his own son, who died in childbirth. From there, the Thorn family starts to experience terrifying events around them, and when Damien turns 5, Robert soon realizes his adopted son is actually the Antichrist. The Omen earned numerous positive reviews upon its original release, and it’s cemented itself as one of the best horror movies of all time. The next two sequels followed Damien in his teen and adult years, while the TV movie Omen IV: The Awakening followed his daughter Delia. Those movies may not have nearly as much praise as the first movie, but at least it kept the story moving forward. So what secrets can The First Omen provide that area absolutely necessary to tell in a full-length movie. What, will we see Damien’s conception?
Although The First Omen marks the franchise’s return to the big screen, it made the jump to the small screen back in March on A&E. The TV series Damien follows the eponymous character as a 30-year old war photographer who’s forgotten about his horrific past from The Omen (the sequels are ignored), but is rediscovering his Antichrist side. With TV covered, evidently 20th Century Fox wanted to bring the property back to theaters, but because of the earlier sequels, a prequel was he only doable option. I might have suggested rebooting the property if they were that keen on a revival, but given how the 2006 remake was received (hint: not well), that probably was out of the picture.
We’ll keep you apprised of any updates regarding The First Omen’s development, for for now, let us know what you think of 20th Century Fox making a prequel to the horror classic in the comments below.
