We Finally Know When You Can Watch Apartment 7A, The New Rosemary's Baby Prequel
Few horror movies in the last several decades have left quite as much a psychological scar as "Rosemary's Baby" from 1968, a widespread cultural obsession among genre fans that has now led to a prequel film called "Apartment 7A," which has long been in the works and finally has a release window.
We first heard about "Apartment 7A" back in 2022, which was meant to tell the story of the eponymous apartment before Rosemary Woodhouse (played by Mia Farrow, seen above in the original film) ever moved in and experienced the story's awful events. First told in author Ira Levin's best-selling novel, the main setting of that old, eerie-looking building on Central Park West ranks high among the likes of the Overlook Hotel from "The Shining," the Nostromo in "Alien," and other famous horror locales. Now, we're finally getting an origin story — of sorts — with ties going all the way back to the controversial Roman Polanski-directed classic.
Today, Paramount+ announced that rapidly rising actor Julia Garner ("The Americans," "The Assistant," "The Royal Hotel") is teaming up with director Natalie Erika James (known for 2020's "Relic") for the straight-to-streaming "Apartment 7A." Curiously described as an "all-new original film," the psychological thriller will be set in 1965 New York and introduce viewers to the events that took place in that ill-fated apartment prior to "Rosemary's Baby." The official synopsis is as follows:
When a struggling, young dancer (Garner) suffers a devastating injury, she finds herself drawn in by dark forces when a peculiar, well-connected, older couple promises her a shot at fame.
Apartment 7A comes to Paramount+ in the fall
Paramount+ is reviving one of their oldest and most famous horror titles, though unfortunately moviegoers won't have a chance to catch this one in theaters. Almost 60 years removed from the release of "Rosemary's Baby" and coming after several attempts over the years to usher in follow-ups to the original movie (including a Zoe Saldaña-led NBC miniseries of the same name in 2014), "Apartment 7A" will provide a definitive interpretation of what led up to the harrowing events that led to a young, pregnant newlywed who begins to suspect that her cultish neighbors have nefarious ideas in mind for her unborn child.
In addition to Julia Garner, the prequel will also star Dianne Wiest, Jim Sturgess, Kevin McNally, Marli Siu, Andrew Buchan, Rosy McEwen, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and comes from a script credited to Natalie Erika James, along with Christian White and Skylar James.
In a statement, Paramount+ Executive Vice President Jeff Grossman had this to say about the news:
"Apartment 7A is the perfect way to kick off the Halloween season. Director Natalie Erika James and the prodigious creative team have crafted a chilling and clever new entry into the genre."
Other than the reference to Halloween and the rather vague timeline of "the fall," no exact release date was provided in the press release. Keep a close eye on /Film for updates if and when we hear more about the production.