The Omen Prequel First Omen Gets a Release Date

20th Century Studios has revealed a first look and confirmed a release date for the upcoming The First Omen, a prequel to the 1976 Academy Award-winning horror movie, The Omen. The First Omen is scheduled to be released exclusively in movie theaters on April 5, 2024; only one other movie is scheduled for that current release date, an "Untitled Universal Event Film," which may not even be released on that date anyway. One week after The First Omen will debut in theaters though it has stiff competition with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire arriving in theaters on April 12. There's also the week after that, April 19th, which will see the release of Radio Silence's Universal Monsters movie. In short, April is officially the new October. 

You can find the first official photo for The First Omen below. 20th Century Studios has also released a synopsis for The First Omen which reads: "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 cast

In announcing the release date and first look at The First Omen, 20th Century Studios confirmed the cast for the film as well which includes: Nell Tiger Free (Game of Thrones), Tawfeek Barhom (Mary Magdalene), Sonia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Ralph Ineson (The Northman), and Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest). The First Omen is directed by Arkasha Stevenson, based on characters created by David Seltzer, with a story by Ben Jacoby (Bleed) and a screenplay by Tim Smith & Arkasha Stevenson and Keith Thomas (Firestarter). The prequel is produced David S. Goyer (Hellraiser, The Dark Knight) and Keith Levine (The Night House) and the executive producers are Tim Smith, Whitney Brown (Rosaline), and Gracie Wheelan.

The Omen began with the 1976 original film from director Richard Donner and starring Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, and David Warner. In the film, an American diplomat (Peck) and his wife (Remick) suffer a tragedy when their baby dies shortly after being born, a local chaplain convinces them to adopt a baby that is at the same hospital but whose mother died during child birth, which is how the Thorn family gets their son, Damien. As the film progresses its central mystery is if Damien really is the Anti-Christ as wild events begin to surround the family and prophecies foretell of his arrival. 

Grossing over $60 million on a $2 million budget, with composer Jerry Goldsmith winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score, The Omen's success quickly gave way to same path countless other horror movies followed, franchising. Damien: Omen II was released just two years later, following a teenage Damien coming to terms with his place as the Antichrist while in military school. Omen III: The Final Conflict would arrive in 1981, starring a young Sam Neill as a now grown up Damien Thorn. Omen IV: The Awakening would be released a decade later.

In 2006 a remake of The Omen was released, premiering in theaters exclusively so it could have the release date of June 6, 2006 (referencing the "number of the beast," 666). A television series reboot was made in 2016, simply titled Damien. Developed by Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead), the series lasted just one season on A&E.