‘Damien’ Comic-Con Trailer Drops: Series Is Direct Sequel To ‘The Omen’

The Damien Comic-Con trailer revealed a little bit more about the series, which is set to premiere in 2016, and rather than pretend the second, third, and fourth films — as well as the remake — existed, A&E has opted instead to make it a direct sequel to the original.

Refreshingly, the series looks like it belongs in that same universe in spite of the 40 years of distance that it has to the Gregory Peck-led shocker.

There are callouts to the original film within this 70-second trailer as well as an unnerving Barbara Hershey stepping in for the horrific Mrs. Baylock (Billie Whitelaw) from the ’76 feature.

(Hershey plays a different character, but she appears to be in the same type of role.)

Fangoria notes that Damien “will follow adult Damien Thorn as he begins to realize and understand his place in the world as the antichrist.”

The website also has some pretty cool looking poster art, which you can see below.

Former showrunner of The Walking Dead Glen Mazzara, whom some believe to be the best parts of that series, will be helming this one.

As with A&E’s previous horror series effort, Bates Motel, they’ve adopted an hour-long 10-episode seasonal format.

Since Damien: The Omen II and The Omen III: The Final Conflict both follow Damien’s childhood and adulthood, there won’t be much room for those films within this continuity, at least it wouldn’t seem like.

And again, going back to Bates Motel, that hasn’t stopped A&E from rolling up their sleeves and charting new courses.

One particularly striking difference between the tone of the trailer you’re about to see and the tone of the original films is how Damien fares when it comes to self-awareness.

In the original films, he appears to know that he’s the antichrist every step of the way.

Here, it seems like he isn’t so sure, which makes one wonder where A&E plans on going with his character development.

Give it a watch, and see what you think, readers.

As for other horror series on the horizon, another hotly anticipated one to come out of San Diego Comic-Con was Ash vs. Evil Dead from Starz.

The return of Ashley Williams (Bruce Campbell) to face the minions of the Evil Dead will go down this Halloween night and is slated for a 10-episode run as well, though each episode will only run 30 minutes in length.

Which show are you most looking forward to — that or Damien? Sound off in the comments section.

[Image of Damien via YouTube screen grab, linked above]