Ari Aster made a splash in the horror scene with his debut feature film, Hereditary, and the writer/director could be returning to that world with a prequel.

Hereditary Prequel

During the Q&A for Hereditary, Aster told Gold Derby he has a script for another movie set in that world, but he’s not in a rush to make it.

“I wrote a prequel to this,” Aster said. “It never feels like the right time. It’s a prequel, not a sequel so I don’t know where this goes.“

The 2018 movie starred Toni Collette as Annie Graham, a grieving miniature artist who uncovers disturbing secrets about her recently deceased mother. A prequel could explore the life of Annie’s mother, or perhaps go back even further into the cult of King Paimon.

Aster has released three movies since Hereditary — Midsommar, Beau if Afraid, and Eddington — but his first film has remained his most popular and critically acclaimed. “In some ways, it’s really irritating,” Aster joked. “I’m trying to get better. Every film I make I actually feel kind of prouder of than the last, and yet it’s like diminishing returns as far as their reception is concerned. I’m thrilled. You want something to last. It’s great. More people come up to me and say they love this film than any of the others. Midsommar I guess is the other.“

What’s Next for Aster

It doesn’t sound like Aster is going to make the prequel anytime soon, but he does have another movie on the way. His next film, Scapegoat, is set to star Scarlett Johansson. Unfortunately, plot details are being kept under wraps.

Johansson has had quite a busy slate recently. She recently wrapped on the Mike Flanagan-directed sequel to The Exorcist and is gearing up to work on Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II this summer. She’s also expected to return for the Jurassic World: Rebirth sequel.

In his review of Beau Is Afraid, our own Chris Bumbray pointed to the lengthy final act as the moment that derailed the story. “If the movie is so well cast and brilliantly made, why isn’t it a masterpiece?” Bumbray wrote. “Aster is trying to make his David Lynch movie here, and while it chugs along nicely for a good hour or two, the last act is deadly. It begins to overstay its welcome, but in many ways, this feels like a calculation by Aster, as I’m not sure he even wants you to like the last part of the movie. Choices are made that seem like a deliberate effort to send people storming out of the theater, and indeed this seems bound to be one of those movies that nabs an F-CinemaScore, although I think it’s a distinction all involved will wear proudly.“

Unfortunately, Aster’s latest, Eddington, received a similarly mixed response. Once again, Bumbray points to that final act as the problem. “Ari Aster’s Eddington is half of a great film,” he wrote. “When focused on the rising madness that gripped much of the world during the pandemic’s early days, it’s sharp, uneasy satire. But the film goes so wildly off the rails in its final hour that it undoes nearly everything that made its riveting first half work, resulting in yet another alienating misfire.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.

Would you like to see a Hereditary prequel?