Horror Villain Prequels: Exploring the Trend of Unnecessary Origin Stories

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CinemaCon, the yearly event where movie studios try to get theater owners excited about their future films, is always full of big news. This year, trailers for Tom Cruise’s Digger and Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil have generated a lot of excitement. Plus, JackSepticEye is making an animated Bloodborne movie, and Christopher Nolan has promised his upcoming film, The Odyssey, will be less than three hours long – which feels like a major accomplishment!

A third Top Gun movie is officially happening, and Paramount has set a release date for its Call of Duty film. Plus, several original stars from The Lord of the Rings will return for The Hunt for Gollum. We’re also getting prequel movies for both Longlegs and Weapons – Longlegs will explore the backstory of Nicolas Cage’s character, while Weapons will delve into the origins of Amy Madigan’s witch.

The announcements of these projects happened very close together, making it clear they’re connected. Paramount is funding a new Longlegs film, bringing back Nicolas Cage in his previous role and director/writer Osgood Perkins. Warner Bros. is also developing a movie called Gladys. Although Brian Cregger won’t be directing the Gladys prequel, he’s collaborating with Zach Shields on writing the script.

These two films are clearly trying to capitalize on the success of a recent horror hit by focusing on its most memorable villain. However, both movies feel pointless. Villains like Longlegs and Aunt Gladys are much scarier when their origins are unknown – revealing too much about them ruins the fear factor.

Both films also have the original creators participating, which is a good sign. Hopefully, they’ll be more similar in quality to Pearl than Orphan: First Kill.

The Original Creators’ Involvement Makes Me Hopeful About These Horror Prequels

Both Cregger and Perkins are currently highly sought-after directors in the horror genre. Despite having the freedom to pursue any project, their current choices are particularly interesting. Cregger recently secured a deal with Warner Bros. for an original sci-fi film called The Flood, revealed at CinemaCon, and he’s also been given control of a beloved survival horror series. He’s not taking on a prequel for financial gain or simply for work; he’s genuinely passionate about expanding the story and character.

Osgood Perkins is rapidly becoming a leading figure in horror filmmaking. Since his film Longlegs went viral just over a year ago, he’s already produced one movie and directed two more, with another in the works. He’s now at a point where he doesn’t need the popularity of Longlegs to get projects approved. Any movie he chooses to write and direct will be the one he’s most excited about, even if it appears, on the surface, to be an unnecessary prequel to Longlegs.

Longlegs & Weapons Aren’t The Only Horror Villain Prequels Right Now

As a horror fan, I’ve been noticing something kinda strange lately. First, Warner Bros. announced prequels for both Longlegs and Weapons at CinemaCon, and now it seems like everyone is digging into the backstories of classic horror villains. It’s not just those two, though! It: Welcome to Derry is already filming its second season, and they’re actually making a show about young Jason Voorhees – exploring his childhood at Crystal Lake. It’s a bit of a trend, and honestly, I’m here for it!

Lately, Hollywood has been focusing on making movies about the villains from horror films. These spinoffs can be really effective – take Pearl, for instance. Seeing the story through the eyes of a disturbed villain is often far more unsettling than following the typical hero.

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2026-04-18 17:35