Twentieth Century Fox is the process of assembling a team to bring a prequel to the classic horror film The Omen titled The First Omen to the big screen.
The Hollywood Reporter is stating that the studio is in negotiations with Antonio Campos, the indie filmmaker who brought the drama Christine to this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Ben Jacoby, who wrote this years’ indie horror flick Bleed, has provided the screenplay for the prequel.
The original 1976 film from director Richard Donner starred Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as parents who discover that their child Damien is not a figurative spawn of Satan but the literal spawn of Satan. Two sequels, a 2006 remake of the original film starring Liev Shrieber and Julia Stiles and a currently running TV series, titled Damien, have followed. So by default, the first film is somewhat of an origin story. And that leads me to wonder, outside of the obvious business considerations, why do we need a prequel anyway? The original Omen pretty much spells out how Peck and Remick’s son was swapped out for Damien at the hospital and how Damien was created by satanists in the first place. Has the TV series airing on A&E really proved that popular that the studio feels now is the time for some corporate synergy and is cashing in?
