Jaume Collet-Serra has built something of a reputation as Liam Neeson’s go-to guy when it comes to action thrillers, with the duo having collaborated on Unknown, Non-Stop, Run All Night and The Commuter, but the 46 year-old filmmaker got his start in the horror genre with 2005’s House of Wax remake and then moved onto bizarre fantasy soccer sequel Goal II: Living the Dream.
Before getting into the Neeson business, Collet-Serra also helmed 2009 horror Orphan, which was a decent sized hit at the box office after raking in almost $80 million on a $20 million budget. There was a surprising amount of star power behind the scenes as well with Joel Silver, Leonardo DiCaprio and Susan Downey all involved as producers, but the breakout success of the movie was youngster Isabelle Fuhrman.
The teenager played Esther, the problem child adopted by a married couple who soon starts to display some murderous tendencies until a shocking twist reveals that the nine year-old is not who she appears to be. Now, over a decade later and it turns out that prequel Orphan: First Kill is already shooting with William Brent Bell stepping in for Collet-Serra, who’s presumably busy with the DCEU’s Black Adam.
Despite the project being a prequel filming eleven years after Orphan hit theaters, the now 23 year-old Fuhrman will be back as Esther, with the production set to use forced perspective and makeup to de-age her. The plot, meanwhile, will explain how the nefarious child escaped from an Estonian psychological institution and made her way to America, in what sounds like a completely unnecessary follow-up, one that contains absolutely no shock value if you’ve already seen Orphan and are aware of the big twist.