- Director William Brent Bell is currently developing a third movie in the Orphan franchise
- Isabelle Fuhrman, who starred in the first two films, has expressed interest in returning for a third installment
- Orphan: First Kill, released in 2022, is a prequel to the original movie and delves into Esther’s early years
William Brent Bell, the director behind the horror sequel Orphan: First Kill, has disclosed that a third installment in the Orphan franchise is being developed. Bell, who recently directed the horror film Lord of Misrule, stated that the “franchise’s rulebook has been opened up” and anything is now possible.
He said, “We’re developing a third one now. The franchise’s rulebook has been opened up to where anything is possible. And knowing where we are in the process already, I’m extremely excited about the twists and turns that we have in store.”
Further details about the project remain unknown, but it is likely that actress Isabelle Fuhrman will return as Esther. The recent sequel utilized body doubles, costumes, and CGI to make the 26-year-old actress appear as a 33-year-old woman pretending to be a 12-year-old again.
Fuhrman revealed in a conversation with Variety in August last year that discussions had started regarding Orphan 3. She disclosed that she had already talked about a further adventure for her character Esther with producer Alex Mace and expressed her desire to return for more, sooner rather than later. Fuhrman stated, “I don’t think we’re gonna have to wait 13 years because I don’t think it’s gonna be possible in 13 years. When you’re in your 20s you can still look younger if you get on a little stool chair, or have children play you from multiple angles. But I would love the opportunity if it came up. I wouldn’t say no.”
Orphan: First Kill director William Brent Bell expressed his high hopes for completing the Orphan trilogy in a previous conversation with MovieWeb’s Tim Kraft. The filmmaker said, “I feel a trilogy can tell a full story… with this story, we get to see a different side to [Esther], but we still don’t know much about the years before… and so, there’s a lot of story there, to me and everybody. If we can pull this movie off — and Isabelle is so passionate about the character — it’s like, you can play this character forever if you wanted to, if we can do it in this movie… there’s a lot to that character, and I think in the future stories, she would probably become a bit more cold-hearted again.”
In the film Orphan: First Kill, released last year, Fuhrman portrays Esther as she adopts a new identity, Leena Klammer. The horror intensifies when she masterminds a brilliant escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility and travels to America, impersonating the missing daughter of a rich couple, Katie and Richard Mauerova. When Katie becomes convinced that Leena is not her daughter, and Richard disagrees, thinking his wife is paranoid and hallucinating, Leena attempts to separate them, causing major issues and pitting herself against a mother determined to protect her family.
Directed by William Brent Bell and written by David Coggeshall, Orphan: First Kill stars Isabelle Fuhrman, Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland, Matthew Finlan, and Morgan Giraudet. The film was released on August 19, 2022, by Paramount Players in select theaters, digital, and streaming on Paramount+.