Brand New Cherry Flavor Director Arkasha Stevenson Boards Prequel Movie The First Omen
Remember "The Omen" prequel we talked about way back in 2016? Well, it's risen from the dead and it has a brand new director attached to boot. Maybe it will really happen or maybe it will once again fall into the Hollywood tarpit and circulate from one wealthy and important person's desk from another wealthy and important person's desk for another six years, but why take the pessimistic point of view when we can instead get hyped for this movie that doesn't need to exist, but might still make for a devilishly good time?
The big update here is that 20th Century Studios has announced (per Deadline) that "The First Omen" will mark the feature length directorial debut of Arkasha Stevenson, who has previously worked on TV shows like "Legion," "Brand New Cherry Flavor," and "Channel Zero." As a person who truly loved "Channel Zero," I have no doubt that Stevenson can craft something uncomfortably twisted that still has a tender beating heart. Especially since Stevenson isn't just directing the film, she'll also be working on a rewrite of the script alongside Tim Smith, who will also serve and as executive producer. And speaking of producers, David S. Goyer and Keith Levine will be joining that team alongside Gracie Wheelan.
An Omen origin story
If you're sitting here thinking, "Okay that sounds nice ... but why?" You're not alone! While the original "Omen" debuted in 1976 and garnered two sequels, a remake, and a short-lived TV series, it's not certainly not the most robust horror franchise. Damien might be one of the cinema's creepiest children, but he's not inspiring sequels and remakes and a nearly eternal spot in Hollywood the way Michael Meyers does (or even Annabelle, if we're thinking about the new class of horror villains). Damien does well, but he doesn't pull creepy puppet numbers, you know what I mean?
Although, maybe it's time he did? "The Omen" doesn't leave a lot of plot holes open for a prequel to explore, which is why most of the "Omen" related content that has come out since 1976 has focused on following story lines that take place after the first film, but maybe we need to get all "Rosemary's Baby" with this plot line. Perhaps "The First Omen" will focus more on the creation of Damien and his unholy patronage. Or you know, maybe Damien isn't the first devil child? Maybe he has a whole slew of devil half siblings to contend with? I mean, neither of these are incredible ideas, but I'm not making this movie, so they don't have to be. Only time will tell if "The First Omen" can reel us all back into the world of satanic offspring.