20th Century Studios’ “The First Omen,” Starring Sonia Braga, to be Released in April 2024

Sonia Braga is feeling an impending omen

The 20th Century Studios’ psychological thriller The First Omen, starring the 73-year-old Brazilian actress, will be released on April 5, 2024.

Sonia BragaThe film is the prequel to the classic 1976 horror film, The Omen.

The original film, a hit in its day, grossed more than $60 million at the domestic box office (unadjusted for inflation) that starred Gregory Peck, Lee Remick and Harvey Stephens, follows an American ambassador who believes his 5-year-old son is the Antichrist.

In the prequel directed by Arkasha Stevenson, 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.

In addition to Braga, best known for work in Kiss of the Spider Women, The First Omen also stars Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Ralph Ineson and Bill Nighy.

The film is based on characters created by David Seltzer, with a story by Ben Jacoby and a screenplay by Tim Smith & Arkasha Stevenson and Keith Thomas.

Producers are David S. Goyer and Keith Levine, and executive producers are Tim Smith, Whitney Brown and Gracie Wheelan.

Campos In Talks to Direct “The Omen” Prequel

It may turn out to be a scary First for Antonio Campos

The half-Brazilian American filmmaker is in talks to direct the supernatural horror thriller The First Omen for 20th Century Fox.

Antonio Campos

It’s a prequel to The Omen, which is being planned for release some forty years after the original was first released.

Campos most recently directed the Sundance Film Festival movie Christine.

The original movie starred the great Gregory Peck as an ambassador who comes to believe that his 5-year-old son may be the living embodiment of the Antichrist.

The movie, directed by Richard Donner, was one of the biggest hits of the year and considered one of the scariest movies of the decade. It introduced Damien, the name of the son, into the pop culture lexicon, and preyed on fears of baby swapping and evil nannies.

Omen spawned two sequels and a series of novels. Fox remade the movie once before, in a 2006 iteration directed by John Moore and starring Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles.

Fox is currently airing a TV version of The Omen titled Damien, helmed by The Walking Dead‘s Glen Mazzara.

Ben Jacoby wrote the script for the prequel.

Campos is a player in the indie sphere and was a producer on movies such as Martha Marcy May Marlene. He previously directed 2012’s Simon Killer. His drama Christine starred Rebecca Hall and Michael C. Hall and premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where distribution outfit The Orchard snapped up domestic rights.