Posted in: 20th Century Studios, Exclusive, Horror, Interview, Movies | Tagged: 20th century studios, Arkasha Stevenson, exclusive, interview, Maria Caballero, Nell Tiger Free, the first omen, the omen

The First Omen: Maria Caballero on Supernatural Thriller, Cast & More

Maria Caballero (The Longest Knight) spoke to Bleeding Cool about 20th Century Studios' The First Omen, cast, franchise & more.

The age of streaming has afforded new opportunities for creativity across the entertainment industry, especially on the nostalgia front. One revisited franchise is The Omen. The original 1976 film was directed by Richard Donner and spawned three sequels in 1978, 1981, and 1991. The 2006 remake was penned by David Seltzer, who also wrote the original. The latest is The First Omen from 20th Century Studios by director Arkasha Stevenson, with Tim Smith, Keith Thomas, and Ben Jacoby co-writing. Joining the franchise is international star Maria Caballero (The Girl in the Mirror, The Longest Knight), who plays Luz Valez. The film, the prequel to the 1976 original, follows an American woman (Nell Tiger Free), sent to work at a church in Rome who uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist. Caballero spoke to Bleeding Cool about her prep, spirituality, Stevenson, and working on her first American production with an international cast and crew.

The First Omen: Maria Caballero on Expanding the Legacy of the Near-50-Year-Old Franchise

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'The First Omen?'
Caballero: Everything about it, especially that it was the prequel of such a cult movie like 'The Omen,' But also the character description, even from the start of the audition process, especially caught me.

What challenges did you have to go through to prepare for this role?
I went through a lot of preparation because I'm not a religious person in a Christian way. Let's say I have my ways of believing, but I am not part of the dogma of any kind. I was reading the Bible and doing a lot of research on the Catholic Church. A lot of research is done in those little religious communities to see how they felt and saw the myths of religion.

Before going in, did you see the original films from 'The Omen' franchise?
Of course. I watched the original one a few times, and it was helpful to understand the magnitude of what we were talking about.

How would you describe the set that Arkasha ran?
The set was professional. Everyone was working hard in their area in their department, but there was also a sense of…do you know when the energy is filled with the impression that we're doing something great and bigger than us? Everyone was excited, bringing new ideas, and happy to go to work in a way.

Can you break down your rapport with some of your costars? You had some veterans there like Bill [Nighy] and Charles [Dance] and younger talent like Nell, what was that like?
That was amazing for me, and it's always good for actors and actresses, especially when we're starting, to work with such amazing talents because they teach you by example. I feel like it's the best university to just be on set with these people, seeing how they work, behave, and are committed. I love them all. They're amazing people and generous, both personally and professionally. It was such a pleasure.

You said you aren't that religious in the context of the film. Was that the most challenging aspect of production? How do you compare this to your other work?
The biggest challenge for me was to work in English. It was my first US production. That was already a challenge because sometimes, there's no time to ask your director, "What did you mean in that moment?" It would be better if you were extra prepared for work.

Do you want to do maybe some more American projects in the future or something with more international reach? What's your feeling on this first experience?
There's such a big difference in the way that production works because here in Spain, I've worked with Netflix, an American company. I don't notice a massive difference in that way, but I did see a lovely international, artistic, poetic sample. We were shooting in Rome, so there were Italian, British, and American teams, and then there were some actors, artists, and filmmakers from New Zealand and several places around the world. We told stories from different cultures, making the story so much more global.

How do you feel working in the horror genre? Is it something that you can hope to do more in the future?
I love to. I enjoyed it and didn't know it would be so fun to work in the horror genre. It is more psychological than pure horror, but combined, it's fantastic.

The First Omen, which also stars Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, and Ralph Ineson, is in theaters on April 5th.

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