New horror instalment Orphan 3 announced

A third ‘Orphan’ film has officially been greenlit at Lionsgate.

The studio confirmed the horror franchise will be receiving another entry, with Isabella Fuhrman, 27, set to reprise her role as Esther - who is actually escaped Estonian psychiatric patient Leena Klammer, a 31-year-old woman with a rare hormonal disorder that gives her the appearance of a 10-year-old child - while director William Brent Bell and ‘Orphan: First Kill’ writer David Coggeshall also due to return for the upcoming movie.

While plot details and a release date are yet to be announced, Lionsgate also confirmed Dark Caste Entertainment would be producing the picture.

In a statement, Dark Castle co-CEO Norman Golightly said: “Dark Castle is excited to announce another terrifying chapter in the ‘Orphan’ saga.

“With the past success of the first two movies and another thrilling storyline, we are confident that ‘Orphan 3’ will be a must-see movie for both current fans of the franchise, and new fans alike.”

After debuting in 2009, the series went on hiatus until the prequel ‘Orphan: First Kill’ was released 13 years later.

Previously, Fuhrman said she loved playing the disturbed Esther in the first film, and was pleasantly surprised to be asked back for the 2022 prequel given she had aged out of the role.

The ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ actress told Variety: “It was actually Brent who put his foot down and was like, ‘I’m only doing it if Isabel is Esther.’

“He forced the studio to do a camera test with me where I was standing on my knees and they put my hair in pigtails and it was the weirdest day because it was like height of COVID and I hadn’t been on a set since COVID, and I didn’t know who I was working with. But obviously, it worked.”

Fuhrman added she was shocked by the plot twist in ‘First Kill’, where it is revealed that the real Ester had died, and a young woman Leena - who had a rare disorder that stunted her physical growth - had replaced her in her foster family.

The actress said: “I loved the twist because this is something that everybody expects when they see a sequel or a prequel, for it to rehash exactly what you knew about the last one.. And all of a sudden, it just flips everything on its head.”