The First Omen Director Arkasha Stevenson Wants To Join The Exorcist Franchise

We talked to Arkasha Stevenson about The First Omen.

By Jamie Jirak

The First Omen is being released in theaters next week, and the new horror flick is set before the events of the original The Omen (1976). The movie was helmed by Arkasha Stevenson, who recently talked to ComicBook.com about her love for horror. During the chat, Stevenson revealed The Omen isn't the only longstanding franchise she is interested in tackling. The director told us that she would love to join the world of The Exorcist. 

"Oh gosh. Yeah," Stevenson replied when asked if there were any other horror franchises she'd like to be a part of. "Well, I mean, there's so many films that I would love to be a part of either bringing back to life or be a part of it. And this might be really trite, but I mean, I loved The Exorcist growing up. I have watched it over a million times. Not to be a total freak, but I have. And there's so much artistry in that film, and there's so much truth in that film that makes it really frightening ... There's too many films to actually talk about."

What Is The Next Exorcist Movie?

The Exorcist: Believer was released in theaters last year, and the legacy sequel was helmed by Halloween (2018) director, David Gordon Green. The movie wasn't the success the filmmakers had hoped for. NBCUniversal paid $400 million for the rights to The Exorcist, but the new movie only earned $137 million worldwide. The film also ended up with a "Rotten" critics score of 22% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience score only reached 59%. ComicBook.com's Kofi Outlaw gave the reboot a 2 out of 5, and called it "an odd and misguided attempt at a direct sequel" that "fails to provide any new soul to the franchise." Despite the movie's poor reception, a sequel titled The Exorcist: Deceiver was still announced for 2025. However, it's been confirmed that Green will not be returning to direct, and the horror film has been pushed back. 

"We are definitely going to make another Exorcist movie, but I wanted more time to figure out what it would be. I have no idea what it's going to be yet," producer Jason Blum shared with The Direct earlier this month.

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What Is The First Omen About?

In The First Omen, when a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate. The First Omen stars Nell Tiger Free (Servant), Tawfeek Barhom (Mary Magdalene), Sonia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Ralph Ineson (The Northman), with Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), and Bill Nighy (Living).

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

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