When news broke of an Orphan sequel being in development, it was a little surprising to realise just how popular the original movie was. When the producers mentioned that the film would be a prequel that once again starred Isabelle Fuhrman as the lethal antagonist, there were a lot of questions raised.
For those unfamiliar with the movie – spoiler alert – it told the story of a couple who adopts a 9-year-old girl named Esther, only for it to be revealed that she is secretly a murderous 33-year-old who hasn’t aged and still looks like a child. The problem is that Fuhrman, who was twelve at the time the movie was made, is now 24 and unfortunately not gifted with the same ability as her character Esther. Meaning she looks way too mature to play the part, which might cause problems for a prequel that is supposed to feature a younger Esther.
Director William Brent Bell has revealed (via Bloody Disgusting) that the company will be using de-aging techniques to enable Fuhrman to bring her character to life once again for the film, which is officially titled Orphan: First Kill. The difference here in comparison to films such as Captain Marvel which starred Samuel L. Jackson under the digital knife is that more practical effects will be used instead of relying solely on expensive CGI technology:
For me it’s like, we know the secret of the first film, so the fun of bringing Isabelle Fuhrman back into the role – which was a whole process to get approved – that is a challenge in and of itself. And likewise, not doing modern CGI… I mean, we use digital, we use CGI to help us… but not to create her at all. It’s all old school techniques: forced perspective, camera angles, where we put the light.
I’d be really interested to see if they can pull this off, especially given their reliance on mostly practical efforts. Maybe Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson can offer a few tips?
Last Updated: May 11, 2021
