The First Omen is an official prequel to Richard Donner’s 1976 The Omen. It follows Margaret, a young American sent to Rome, and builds toward the original film’s events. Director Arkasha Stevenson says it includes Easter eggs and answers to questions she had about the earlier film, while telling a story intended to stand on its own.
How does The First Omen fit into the franchise?
20th Century Studios describes The First Omen as a prequel to the 1976 film. Rather than retelling the original through the perspective of the Thorn family, it follows Margaret as she arrives in Rome for a life of service to the church. There, she uncovers a conspiracy connected to the birth of evil incarnate.
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The connection is designed to point forward: Stevenson told SciFiNow that the prequel’s ending leads directly toward the 1976 film. She also said the filmmakers included Easter eggs and tried to answer questions she had while watching the original. The interviews establish the intended bridge without spelling out every plot revelation, so the clearest spoiler-light answer is that the new film sets up the path to the earlier story rather than replacing or retelling it.
What does the director say viewers will recognize?
Stevenson’s most direct explanation is that the film leaves viewers knowing where the story is headed: “You’re navigated in the direction directly to the 1976 The Omen. There are a lot of easter eggs. We really tried to answer a lot of questions that I myself had watching the 1976 version.” She gave that account in a SciFiNow interview published May 8, 2024.
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One familiar figure also helps set up the connection. In an Entertainment Tonight interview published April 1, 2024, Stevenson identified The First Omen as a prequel focused on Margaret; the coverage also notes the return of Father Brennan, a character from the original. The film therefore connects through both its forward-moving story and recognizable elements from the earlier one.
How does the prequel differ from the original?
A new protagonist and point of view
The original centers on the Thorns, while the prequel gives the viewpoint to Margaret. The shift lets the film approach the events leading toward the 1976 story from the perspective of a young woman arriving in Rome, rather than simply recreating the original’s family-centered plot.
Continuity without imitation
Stevenson has described the original as a favorite and said the team wanted to make a film with its own voice rather than copy it. In the studio’s production notes, she calls the prequel a story that can “stand on its own,” while also adding its own message to a conversation with the 1976 film. That is the director’s stated aim, not a claim that every viewer will interpret the films or their relationship in the same way.
A period atmosphere with a contemporary perspective
The story is set in 1971. Stevenson said the production used period design, lighting, and locations in Italy and Rome to evoke the era, and described limiting Steadicam use and avoiding a digitally slick look associated with modern horror. These are accounts of creative intent, not independent technical measurements of the finished film.
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Stevenson also connected the 1970s horror films Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and The Omen with anxieties about children and counterculture. She said those concerns resonated with her own fears about the older generation and contemporary events in America. This context helps explain the “message” she says the prequel brings to its conversation with the original; it is her thematic reading, rather than the only possible interpretation.
Should you watch the 1976 film first?
The films can be approached as a prequel and the film it leads into: Stevenson said The First Omen was made to stand on its own, while also encouraging viewers to watch the 1976 version. Watching the original first can make its returning character, Easter eggs, and destination more legible. Watching the prequel first follows the story’s chronology. The director’s comments support either approach, but describe the new film as a bridge toward—not a substitute for—the original.
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Release details
20th Century Studios lists The First Omen as a horror thriller directed by Arkasha Stevenson, released April 5, 2024, with a runtime of 1 hour 59 minutes. The listed cast includes Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy. Streaming availability and physical-media stock vary by region and date.
Sources: 20th Century Studios’ film page; 20th Century Studios’ production notes; SciFiNow’s interview with Arkasha Stevenson; Entertainment Tonight’s interview coverage; Bloody Disgusting’s interview with Stevenson.
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