The First Omen’s Director and Star Talk Being Fans of the Original

The First Omen is heading to theaters next week, and the film is set before the events of the original The Omen, which was released back in 1976. The new film stars Nell Tiger Free (Servant, Game of Thrones) as a young American woman who is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church when she encounters a dark conspiracy. The new movie was helmed by Arkasha Stevenson, who has directed episodes of Legion and Brand New Cherry Flavor. ComicBook.com recently had the chance to chat with Stevenson and Free, and they both spoke about their love for the original The Omen. 

“Oh, it was totally simple and easy, right? No stress,” Stevenson joked about directing her first feature. “No … I mean, actually I had so much support and it was just a lot of fun. I am a big Omen fan, so this was just kind of a dream come true. And we got to shoot in Rome, so … you’re so distracted by everything and how fun it is to make this film that this stress kind of wears off.”

“I think that the reason that the original is so impactful is because of the character development and the really grounded nature of the relationships, but then also how the horror is executed,” Stevenson added. “I think that the cinematography is very egoless, which really allows everything to feel real and to lose yourself in it. And so that was something that we really wanted to bring as much as possible to this film. And I think with Margaret’s character, Nell did such an incredible job making her real that you want to spend time with her and get to know her so that when her psyche starts to shatter. You’re with her.” 

“Not gonna lie … A little bit of pressure,” Free half-joked when asked about leading a movie in such an iconic franchise. “I love the original. I mean, who doesn’t? Especially if you’re a horror fan. I mean, it’s kind of like a horror fan’s bread and butter, in my opinion, is The Omen. So coming into it, I was like, ‘I better get this right, or I’m going to be into serious trouble because I am one of them.’ I know how intense horror fans can be. We can get really mad if something is not handled correctly. It’s like, ‘Hang on a second, specifically, this is supposed to be like this actually.’ So I was like, ‘Okay. I have to really bear all of that in mind and hopefully appease the community.’” 

You can watch our interviews with Stevenson and Free at the top of the page.

The First Omen lands in theaters on April 5th.