Given that The First Omen is a direct prequel to the 1976 horror classic The Omen, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it might not necessarily lead to any further sequels.

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But, according to star Nell Tiger Free – who has the lead role of novice nun Margaret Daino in the film – the ending of the movie "opens the door to so much more" when it comes to the future of the franchise.

Speaking during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, she said she was "very interested to know" what happens to her character and others after the events of the film, and not just because it affects her personally.

"I mean, I think it's so smart what they did at the end, with the twist at the end, and I think it opens up the door to so much more to the story," she explained.

"Like where these two other people could go, and their story could be running parallel to [the events of The Omen]."

She added: "I just think there's so much... there's always room to add to wonderful things, you know, and, like, The Omen, the original Omen, is a wonderful thing.

"And that's why it's no wonder it's spawned so many prequels and remakes and series... it's because it was a fantastic idea executed perfectly.

"And we all just want to jump on board. [We] just want more of it – more of a good thing.”

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Free had been a huge fan of The Omen – and the horror genre in general – long before she came on board the new film, and she fondly recalled her first experience of watching the film when she was younger.

"When I was really young, I used to sneak over to my next door neighbour's house and we would watch horror films together," she explained.

"I would like sneakily watch different horror films in, like, 18 different parts on YouTube, it would take me like four hours to actually find all the parts and watch them in completion.

"I think I snuck over to my neighbour Hannah's house and we watched The Omen together. And I remember being, like, traumatised in such a pleasant way. In, like, such a morbid fascination, love of the macabre way."

She continued: "I've always... horror was the thing that made me fall in love with film in the first place. And The Omen was actually a very big part of that. So yeah, I mean, I just love weird, freaky stuff. And this is that, for sure."

The First Omen released in UK cinemas on Friday 5th April 2024. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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Authors

Patrick Cremona, RadioTimes.com's senior film writer looking at the camera and smiling
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.

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