Not every horror movie villain is an immediate icon, but between the classic “evil child†premise of 2009’s Orphan, the film’s now-infamous twist, and its odd similarity to last year’s “Ukrainian orphan†news story (here, watch this Dr. Phil interview to catch up), it’s not too surprising Dark Castle Entertainment would want to bring back Isabelle Fuhrman to reprise her role as the malevolent Esther in an as-yet-unnamed Orphan prequel. The Boy director William Brent Bell will direct, with David Coggeshall set to write the screenplay. And if you haven’t seen Orphan, the part of the article you can safely read without spoilers is now over!
As for those readers who are fine with spoilers, or who have seen Orphan, which co-stars Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard, a prequel is kind of the only narrative option available. (Let’s just say, things don’t work out so well for Esther at the end of Orphan.) However, given Orphan’s twist, a prequel seems like a wild decision: Esther, who her adoptive parents believe is a 9-year-old girl, turns out to be an adult woman posing as a child to infiltrate their family. Fuhrman was 12 when the film was released in 2009, so now, in the upcoming prequel, she’ll be an actual adult woman playing Esther … as an even younger child?! You know what? Good. We didn’t watch Orphan for it to make sense; we watched it to be scared, and you better believe we’re ready to be that again.