In 2020, it was announced that a prequel for the 2009 horror-thriller Orphan would be in the works, and Isabelle Fuhrman would be reprising her role as Esther. This drew a bit of concern since it has been over ten years since the release of the first film, and Fuhrman, now 25 years old, would be playing a nine-year-old child in Orphan: First Kill. However, with the advancing use of de-aging CGI visuals, the possibilities are endless.
De-aging effects have been used in Hollywood successes like Captain Marvel and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Even Scream 2022 dabbled in the capabilities of such effects, allowing for the return of Skeet Ulrich as Billy’s ghost. However, rumors have surfaced that Isabelle Fuhrman will be reprising her role without using special effect make-up. Here’s how she will be made to look young again in Orphan: First Kill.
Adopting a Premise
Orphan was released in 2009 and the ending provided enough of a shocking twist to make up for where the movie may have otherwise lacked. After losing their unborn baby, the Coleman family decide to adopt a child. On a visit to the orphanage, they come across Esther, who seems brilliant beyond her years, and instantly fall in love with the strange young girl. Once in their home, she has some trouble adjusting, and is often at odds with her adoptive mother Kate while clamoring for the attention of John. Esther attempts to murder Kate's children and aggressively gaslights her, eventually putting her at odds with her husband. At first, the seemingly ill-adjusted, murderous child appears to be fueled by jealous rage. Yet, once Esther has eliminated all the members of the house and has John alone, it is revealed that Esther is actually a woman in her 30s with a medical condition that makes her appear as a child. She desperately wants the romantic love of John, but once she is denied his affections, she murders him.
Orphan's shocking twist was one that was hard to see coming and that is part of the reason that this off-beat horror film has held up after all this time. The cringe-worthy premise of an older woman pretending to be a child to win the affections of the house's father figure are enough to send chills down anyone's spine. Yet, it is the film's origin story that has audiences so intrigued for the release of the prequel. Now, Esther's murderous beginnings will be revealed, and we may finally find out in detail what happened to the before the Coleman's.
De-aging a Prequel
When it was announced that Isabelle Fuhrman would be reprising her role as Esther, fans of the original were unsure how, being that the actress is now in her mid-20s. It was impossible that there would be a flash-forward sequence since Esther was killed by Kate at the end of the original, but Fuhrman was excited to make it work. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fuhrman commented that she would be reprising her role with no de-aging work or CGI: "We didn’t use special effects, we didn’t use any crazy makeup tricks. And I think that’s what makes the movie work, is because you really can’t figure out how I look like a [9-year-old], but I do. And it’s really creepy." Instead of mainly using CGI, the film will focus on using old school practical effects to create the idea that Fuhrman is actually nine years old. Such effects are lighting, camera angles, and different editing styles.
The prequel will follow Esther, now known as Leena, posing to be the missing daughter of a wealthy family after her escape from a psychiatric facility. Orphan: First Kill has yet to receive an official release date, but fans are excited to see the brilliant work that has gone into de-aging Fuhrman to look like a nine-year-old.