The First Omen Director Addresses Timing of Immaculate's Release

The First Omen director Arkasha Stevenson gives a great answer when asked about Immaculate.

By Jamie Jirak

The First Omen is heading to theaters next week, and it stars Nell Tiger Free (Servant, Game of Thrones) as a young American woman who is sent to Italy to begin a life of service to the church when she encounters a dark conspiracy. Interestingly, it's not the only new movie that fits that description. Immaculate starring Sydney Sweeney is currently playing in theaters, and it's quite similar to The Omen prequel. ComicBook.com recently had the chance to talk to The First Omen director Arkasha Stevenson, and we asked about the timing of Immaculate while sharing our hope that horror fans will embrace both women-led films instead of pitting them against each other. 

"Oh, well, it's exciting," Stevenson explained. "I think for horror fans, especially for religious horror fans, you don't get a lot of films very often, so to have two coming out very close to each other is great. And yet clearly people have something on their minds right now."

During the chat, Stevenson also talked about her 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."

Related:

"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." 

You can watch our interview with Stevenson at the top of the page. The First Omen lands exclusively in theaters on April 5th.

Trending Now: