Horror fans were shocked to hear that Orphan prequel Orphan: First Kill would not only explore the earlier, horrifying adventures of the original film’s Esther, but that Isabelle Fuhrman would even be reprising the role for the film. Of course, an actor returning to a role, even a prequel, isn’t entirely unheard of, but with the original film featuring Fuhrman playing a nine-year-old girl and the actor barely being in double digits herself, Fuhrman believes she’s making movie history for the feat of reprising the role in the prequel. Orphan: First Kill was directed by William Brent Bell directed from a script by David Coggeshal. Orphan: First Kill does not yet have a release date.
Fuhrman detailed to Collider that the prequel is “definitely not what I think most people will expect, which I think is really exciting and what really drew me to even coming back to play that role. And also, what I think is most exciting about it is it’s something that’s never been done cinematically. There’s never been an adult actress who reprised a role she played as child. And that was exceptionally difficult and really fun to do, because when I was a kid and I played Esther, I was constantly playing a 33-year-old hiding herself as a kid while I was also 10, and this time, it was like, ‘Here’s a little weight off my shoulders,’ since I just have to pretend I’m 10, because I’m already an adult.”
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The original 2009 film starred Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard as parents who adopt the nine-year-old Esther (Fuhrman), who goes on to demonstrate bizarre behavior, leading to the reveal that, rather than being a child, she’s an adult woman with primordial dwarfism and is merely exploiting families for her own gain.
Fuhrman would go on to tease that the new film will surely take audiences by surprise.
“It was really cool to be back on that [Orphan] set. I think people will be shocked by that story,” the actor admitted. “It’s very different from what most people would expect and Julia [Stiles] is absolutely incredible in it, and we had a lot of fun making the movie together. It’s definitely a story about the two of us and our relationship, and Esther’s way that she came to the United States and how she found herself there.”
Director Bell previously detailed that the prequel took an old-school approach to conveying a younger Esther, with Fuhrman noting that one reuirement was modifying her posture.
“Actually, The Novice helped me prepare for that movie because I spent the majority of [Orphan: First Kill] squatting since I had to walk around in a squat because I’m, you know, taller than the average 10-year-old,” Fuhrman.
The actor also noted that, while the film doesn’t yet have a release date, audiences could expect an update “very soon.”
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