Orphan Getting Prequel From The Boy Director

Over ten years after the first film was released, the world is finally ready for a prequel to 2009’s horror-thriller Orphan. William Brent Bell of The Boy and this weekend’s Brahms: The Boy II is attached to direct the film which will feature a script by David Coggeshall (Scream: The TV Series, The Haunting in Connecticut 2). Deadline reports that the film is being pushed at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, with eOne overseeing the project. Fittingly, the film will be titled “Esther,” and as of this writing it’s unclear if it will carry a subtitle tying it into the original movie such as “The Orphan Begins.”

In the event that you’ve forgotten, or somehow missed this gem of a summer horror movie, 2009’s Orphan was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows) and told the story of a couple (played by Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard) that adopt a nine-year-old named Esther who they believe to be an orphan from Russia. Through a series of deadly and unusual circumstances ala Damien in The Omen or Rhoda Penmark in The Bad Seed, it is revealed that “nine-year-old Esther” is actually “33 year old Leena Klammer.” The character was played by actress Isabelle Fuhrman who went on to appear in The Hunger Games.

Suffering from the hormonal disorder “hypopituitarism” which stunted her growth, Esther’s entire game in posing as a young girl was to go on a murder spree, which she was mostly successful at. It’s revealed in the movie that Esther has killed at least seven people before the events of the movie, something that will seemingly be explored in the prequel.

Considering the ending of the 2009 movie, a prequel is the only option, but at least we finally learn the circumstances of how she got out and made it to America. Produced on a reported budget of $20 million, Orphan did decent enough business at the time, bringing in $78.8 million worldwide. The new film will almost certainly be made on a smaller budget.

The official description for “Esther,” according to the trade, reads: “Lena Klammer orchestrates a brilliant escape from a Russian psychiatric facility and travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family. But Lena’s new life as “Esther” comes with an unexpected wrinkle and pits her against a mother who will protect her family at any cost.”

Alex Mace, Hal Sadoff and Ethan Erwin of Dark Castle Entertainment will produce the film along with James Tomlinson.

Are you interested in seeing a prequel to Orphan or has the ship sailed on franchising this movie? Sound off in the comments below!