According to a new rumor, New Line is developing a prequel to the 1995 David Fincher classic Se7en.

According to BD, a treatment titled Virtue is being sent out to potential scribes. The horror website claims that the movie would be released and marketed as "it's own entity, but when the finale comes to light we are hit with a revelation that we're watching the next Se7en film."

This one quote makes me doubt the validity of the scoop. Would a movie studio keep a prequel/sequel a secret even in the marketing phase? I seriously doubt it. And how could any movie studio expect such a secret not to leak out onto the internet and become widely known to the mainstream public before release? But we'll see.

The original 1995 film follows two detectives (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman), one new to the district and one about to retire, investigating a series of ritualistic murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. Over the course of the following days the two try to track down the killer through the bleak streets of the rain-soaked city that is the backdrop of the story. The film was written by Andrew Kevin Walker (8MM, Sleepy Hollow) who is currently working on a screenplay for the Universal remake of The Wolf Man.

David Fincher has in the past talked about a sequel: "I read a script two or three years ago that they wanted to make the sequel to Se7en. It didn't make a lot of sense to me. They wanted Morgan to have become clairvoyant in some way and that was the way he was now solving serial-killer cases! And I was like, 'Well, that's handy!' Its the kind of high concept you worry about. So I dont know that there is going to be a sequel. I do know that they have to call me if they're going to do it..."

A 7-part comic book series based on the movie is currently being released.

Rumor Reality Meter: 4 our of 10