Originally announced in April 2016, The First Omen–a prequel to the 1976 horror film, The Omen–dives into the mysterious origins of Damien’s birth, and his mother. Tim Smith, Arkasha Stevenson, and Keith Thomas wrote the script with Stevenson making her feature directorial debut
The film follows Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), an American sent to work at a church back in Rome. She soon uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of an Antichrist. If you’re familiar with the story of The Omen, you might see where this is going. Check out the teaser below.
Interesting choice of music, using Fever Ray’s “If I Had A Heart,” which should be recognizable to Vikings fans as that show’s theme song, but it sets an eerie tone for things to come. There’s even a glimpse of the 666 mark inside someone’s mouth. In The Omen, that mark was found on Damien’s scalp.
Ralph Ineson will play the younger Father Brennan, a priest who wants to stop the birth of the Antichrist. In the original film, an older version of Brennan was portrayed by Patrick Troughton. The First Omen also stars Sonia Braga, Bill Nighy, and Tawfeek Barhom.
The Omen had a TV remake in the mid-90s that was intended to relaunch the movie as a television series but never made it past the pilot. There was also the A&E attempt that focused on an older Damien back in 2016. The original Omen spawned three sequels and a 2006 remake starring Julia Stiles and Liev Schreiber.
The First Omen arrives in theaters on April 5, 2024.