The First Omen Trailer Gives A Horror Classic The Prequel Treatment
In 1976, audiences were introduced to Damien, a little kid with jet-black hair who may or may not be the Antichrist (spoiler: he is/was). In "The Omen," a diplomat (Gregory Peck) and his wife (Lee Remick) become the parents of a bouncing baby boy. But there's a twist: the diplomat is told that their actual baby died during childbirth. Rather than go home empty-handed, Peck's character is convinced to adopt another baby. He passes the child off as his own and neglects to tell his wife about the whole "our real kid died" thing. Men, am I right? Anyway, as it turns out, the child the couple welcomes into their home ends up being the spawn of Satan, and that could spell certain doom for us all.
"The Omen," which was helmed by "Superman" director Richard Donner, was a box office hit and has since become a horror classic. Now, it's getting the seemingly inevitable prequel treatment with "The First Omen," a horror pic from director Arkasha Stevenson. The first trailer for "The First Omen" was summoned today, and you can watch it above.
The First Omen trailer is ready to summon the spawn of Satan
Horror sequels, prequels, spin-offs, and remakes are ubiquitous things, and I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone got around to making an "Omen" prequel. Of course, this begs the question: what exactly is the point of such a movie? The original "Omen" movie pretty much gave us all the backstory we needed regarding Damien. But hey, what do I know? I'm not a studio exec greenlighting this sort of thing while pulling in obscene amounts of money.
Anyway, "The First Omen" isn't the first franchise entry in the series. After "The Omen" became a big hit it resulted in multiple sequels — "Damien: Omen II," which is over-the-top with its violence and kind of fun, "Omen III: The Final Conflict," where Sam Neill played the adult Damien, and "Omen IV: The Awakening," which I confess I never bothered to see. There was also a remake in 2006. Now here comes "The First Omen."
Here's the official synopsis:
When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
The flick stars Nell Tiger Free ("Servant"), Tawfeek Barhom ("Mary Magdalene"), Sonia Braga ("Kiss of the Spider Woman"), Ralph Ineson ("The Northman"), and Bill Nighy ("Living"). Arkasha Stevenson directs, with a story by Ben Jacoby ("Bleed") and a screenplay by Tim Smith & Arkasha Stevenson and Keith Thomas ("Firestarter"). Look for "The First Omen" in theaters on April 5, 2024.