Ari Aster reveals he wrote a ‘Hereditary’ prequel but the timing has never felt right

The filmmaker also reflected on difficult financing battles that nearly derailed his breakthrough horror debut

Eight years after Hereditary established him as one of modern horror’s most distinctive filmmakers, Ari Aster has revealed that he once developed a prequel to the acclaimed film, although audiences should not expect to see it any time soon.

Speaking during a question and answer session following a screening of Hereditary at the Egyptian Theatre, Aster confirmed that he had written a story set before the events of his 2018 feature. Despite completing the script, he admitted that he has never felt the moment was right to move forward with the project.

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

Hereditary marked Aster’s feature directorial debut and quickly became one of A24’s most celebrated horror releases. The film starred Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro and Gabriel Byrne, following the Graham family as a series of disturbing events unfold after the death of the family’s secretive grandmother.

The success of the film helped launch Aster’s career and led to later projects including Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid and the upcoming Eddington, all produced and distributed by A24.

During the same discussion, Aster addressed the frequently used phrase “elevated horror”, a label often attached to his work alongside films from directors such as Jordan Peele and Robert Eggers. The filmmaker explained that he has never been comfortable with the description.

Aster said he dislikes the term because it placed him inside a category that some horror fans found dismissive toward the genre itself.

The director also shared previously untold details about the difficult journey to complete Hereditary. According to Aster, actor Danny DeVito had attempted to help finance the project, but ultimately could not secure the necessary funding.

Instead, Aster partnered with another financier whose identity he chose not to reveal. He described the experience as one of the darkest periods of his life, explaining that he spent much of the production trying to protect the film from falling apart.

Despite those struggles, Hereditary became both a critical and commercial success and remains one of the defining horror films of the 2010s.