'The Omen' Movie Prequel in the Works
Gregory Peck fights demonic forces in ‘The Omen’ (Photo: 20th Century Fox)
By Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter
Forty years after it was first released, The Omen is coming back to the big screen as a prequel that is being pieced together by 20th Century Fox.
Antonio Campos, the indie filmmaker who most recently directed the Sundance movie Christine, is in negotiations to helm the supernatural horror thriller titled The First Omen, which is being produced by David Goyer and Kevin Turen and their Phantom Four banner.
The original movie starred the great Gregory Peck as an ambassador who comes to believe that his 5-year-old son may be the living embodiment of the Antichrist.
The movie, directed by Richard Donner (who would later go on to helm Superman, The Goonies and the Lethal Weapon movies), was one of the biggest hits of the year and considered one of the scariest movies of the decade. It introduced Damien, the name of the son, into the pop culture lexicon, and preyed on fears of baby swapping and evil nannies.
Omen spawned two sequels and a series of novels. Fox remade the movie once before, in a 2006 iteration directed by John Moore and starring Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles. Fox is currently airing a TV version of The Omen titled Damien, helmed by The Walking Dead’s Glen Mazzara.
Ben Jacoby wrote the script for the prequel.
Campos is a player in the indie sphere and was a producer on movies such as Martha Marcy May Marlene. He previously directed 2012’s Simon Killer. His drama Christine starred Rebecca Hall and Michael C. Hall (no relation) and premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where distribution outfit The Orchard snapped up domestic rights.
He is repped by UTA and Washington Square Arts.
