Nearly 15 years ago, Jaume Collet-Serra’s Orphan released in theaters. Unlike other horror films involving a seemingly sweet young child, the twist of their dark tendencies was considerably more straightforward, Isabella Fuhrman’s nine-year-old Esther wasn’t possessed by a demon or a conduit to hell, she was in reality a woman named Leena with a rare genetic disorder that stunted her growth, and she’s spent years posing as a little girl and killing people to cover up her secret.
It wasn’t until 2022 that we got a follow-up in the prequel movie Orphan: First Kill, but it sounds like we may not be done with the sort of franchise quite yet. In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, First Kill director William Brent Bell told the outlet that he believed there was enough murderous gas in the tank to warrant an Orphan 3. To him, the series can have “so many variations” because by design, Esther offers more creative freedom than franchises with masked killers. “She’s a real character,” Bell remarked. “There are so many directions to go, and we’re developing a third one now.” While nothing is set in stone yet, he did point out that Fuhrman would be game to reprise her role as Esther, so that’s something.
Bell recalled how he recently met back up with First Kill writer David Coggeshall, who told him that he enjoyed writing the prequel because of its freedom. “You get to kind of do anything,” said Bell of the films, adding “the rulebook has been opened up to where anything is possible.” He also brought up the original film’s co-writer, David Leslie Johnson, who once told him an Orphan movie “has to have the twist.” It sounds like the third one’s got some twists on hand—what they are, Bell obviously kept quiet, but he teased that he was “extremely excited” about what could be in store.
Orphan: First Kill is viewable over on Paramount+. Bell’s next film, Lord of Misrule, is available to rent on Prime Video.
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