The Omen horror movie franchise followed Damien, a child who turned out to be the antichrist (spoiler alert for a nearly 50-year-old movie). But now horror fans are going to see what happened prior to Damien's birth, which perhaps led to evil incarnate emerging. This tale will be told in the 2024 new movie, The First Omen.
The horror prequel has become a staple of the genre, exploring how the characters that have terrified us on screen have come to be. In recent years, this has included Pearl (prequel to X), Annabelle: Creation (prequel to The Conjuring) and Prey (prequel to Predator; though both are a horror/sci-fi combo). We'll soon be adding The First Omen to that list.
Here is everything that you need to know about The First Omen.
The First Omen release date
The First Omen is now playing exclusively in movie theaters.
The First Omen cast
The First Omen cast includes Nell Tiger Free (Servant), Tawkeef Barhom (The Looming Tower), Sonia Braga (Shotgun Wedding), Ralph Ineson (The Creator) and Bill Nighy (Living).
The First Omen plot
While The Omen centered on Damien, The First Omen is going back to before he was born, perhaps answering why he came about in the first place. Here is the official synopsis of The First Omen from 20th Century Studios:
"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."
Based on the characters by original The Omen writer David Seltzer, the screenplay for The First Omen was written by Tim Smith & Arkasha Stevenson and Keith Thomas.
The First Omen trailer
Have to give The First Omen points for creativity in its first trailer. As some things play out backwards there is quite an unsettling feeling going on without giving away too much of the expected scares in the movie. Watch it for yourself right here:
Check out the second trailer for The First Omen right here:
The First Omen reviews
Critics have weighed in on The First Omen, and the reviews are pretty solid. As of Friday, April 5, the horror movie has an 81% "Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Arkahsa Stevenson credits
The First Omen marks the first feature movie directing job for Arkasha Stevenson, though she has a number of directing credits for well known TV series, including directing episodes of Brand New Cherry Flavor, Briarpatch and Legion.
