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Ari Aster wrote a Hereditary prequel, but he might never make it

The idea (and even script) for the Hereditary prequel exists, confirmed Midsommar director Aster. But there's one problem with him actually making it

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Thu Jun 11 2026

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There's more to Hereditary than we thought.

At least, that's what writer and director Ari Aster has made clear with his revelation that, sometime in between making his boundary-pushing, avant-garde horror flicks, he has written the script for a Hereditary prequel. I know, I know, we starting looking for a release date just like you are now, but here's the problem: the Beau is Afraid director might not actually turn said script into a movie.

Let's back up a sec. All this comes from an interview Aster did with Gold Derby at the American Cinematheque in LA. Aster was appearing at a Q&A on Sunday, June 7, and we're assuming he shocked the crowd when he touched on his classic of modern horror, the Toni Colette-starring Hereditary.

"I wrote a prequel to this," Aster casually dropped. Now, you can feel the 'but' coming, can't you?

"It never feels like the right time," the director said of actually making the movie, "It’s a prequel, not a sequel so I don’t know where this goes."

Look, Ari, I'm no big Hollywood director; I'm just a humble pop culture reporter who the internet accuses of being AI when I write about fandoms they don't like. But even I know that the right time is exactly now for more Hereditary! Backrooms and Obsession are proving that audiences want weird, original horror these days, and the Oscar nomination that Toni Colette was robbed of deserves to be avenged!

Besides, if other horror hits are dipping into prequel territory, why not you?

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." Join Popverse's freaky forays into frightful filmology with:

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.