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Development—Hell? Director Antonio Campos Starts New Film As Omen Prequel Awaits

Paul K. Bisson • Sep 13, 2018

In 2016 The Hollywood Reporter broke news that an Omen prequel was in the works — tentatively titled, The First Omen — and indie filmmaker Antonio Compos was attached to direct. At that time, I outlined one potential way a prequel could work. Since then there has been no new developments reported about the film.

Last week, Deadline reported that Compos’ next film will be  The Devil All the Time , a drama that goes into production in February 2019. This means Compos won’t be turning his attention to The First Omen  anytime soon — considering he’s also attached to rewrite and direct the Fox Searchlight horror film  Splitfoot.

Compos won acclaim in 2016 for directing Christine , a drama based on the true story of 1970s TV reporter Christine Chubbuck who struggled with depression and committed suicide during a live news broadcast.

According to IMDb, The First Omen is still designated as “announced” with Compos still attached to direct. At last report, it’s being produced by David Goyer and Kevin Turen  and their Phantom Four banner from a script by Ben Jacoby . But only time will tell when the wheels start turning on the project.

The Omen writer, David Seltzer
By Paul K. Bisson 24 Jan, 2024
"The First Omen," a new thriller from 20th Century Studios / Disney is coming soon! But why are they stonewalling David Seltzer, the writer of the classic movie upon which it is based?
Book covers to Poland's first edition of The Omen published 2018 and Brazil's second edition, 2020.
By Paul K. Bisson 30 Sep, 2020
Omen prequel writers: Ben Jacoby, Hayes brothers, and Gillian Flynn
By Paul K. Bisson 15 Sep, 2020
Omen prequel had three writers; Ben Jacoby, Hayes brothers, and Gillian Flynn but remains in limbo.
By Paul K. Bisson 07 Oct, 2019
Order yours here: https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-omen-collection-deluxe-edition
By Paul K. Bisson 08 Jun, 2018
It's been a year since Glen Mazzara's Damien, starring Bradly James was released on DVD. And we still don't have a Blu-ray edition! What's a Damien fan to do? Easy: get the whole series, all ten episodes, in HD for a ridiculously low $4.99. That's right, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play / YouTube, and VuDu are all offering the series in HD for FIVE BUCKS! You can also watch the show if you subscribe to Hulu. This is for North America. It may be different elsewhere. So get your Thorn on! And happy watching.
By Paul K. Bisson 11 Mar, 2017
One year ago this week A&E premiered a drama that dared to ask the question: What ever happened to that little boy at the end of The Omen ? Showrunner Glen Mazzara didn’t care that the question had already been asked – and answered – in two Omen sequels; the Shield and Walking Dead producer had his own ideas. He cast British heartthrob Bradley James ( Merlin’s King Arthur ) as the Antichrist and set out to tell an alternate future for DAMIEN .
By Paul K. Bisson 02 May, 2016
On Thursday, The Hollywood Reporter broke news that a prequel to The Omen was coming from 20th Century Fox . Appropriately titled The First Omen , it’s being produced by David Goyer and Kevin Turen through their Phantom Four production company and a script has already been written by Ben Jacoby . Antonio Campos is in talks to direct. Now… I don’t know who Jacoby is and I haven’t seen anything by Campos or Turen. But I’m sure we’re all familiar with Goyer. Initially, I assumed the news was about Platinum Dunes finally gaining some traction on the Omen remake that Bloody Disgusting reported on in 2014. But no – this is really about a prequel!
By Paul K. Bisson 09 Mar, 2016
When Damien was announced in late 2014, I was blown away by the idea. To die-hard fans of The Omen , this was exciting news. Of course, I don’t speak for all Omen fans; I’m sure some hated the idea – and still do. They’re usually the same people who think it’s cool to hate sequels, prequels, and remakes, (some on principal alone) and who drone on and on about how unoriginal Hollywood has become. But sequels and remakes are nothing new – they’ve been around almost as long as filmmaking itself. Are they all good? Hell, no. Most are inferior to the original. And many downright suck. But when it works – it’s great. It’s all about storytelling. If the story works and it’s told well, does it really matter how derivative it is? And if it doesn’t work, so what? We still have the originals. I’m annoyed when people say a poor sequel has somehow ruined the integrity of the original. No, it hasn’t. Grow up.
By Paul K. Bisson 08 Dec, 2014
Merlin star, Bradley James has landed the title role of “Damien” in the upcoming Lifetime original series based on the 1976 classic, The Omen. Here’s an image to celebrate the news (click to enlarge). Details in the Deadline news article here. We’ll post more news as it happens.
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