The Hereditary Prequel Could Finally Reveal the Origins of Paimon

Fans can never get bored with origin stories, as they are hungry for stories that give final closure. They want to know how it all began and what gave rise to the chaos that turned out to be blockbuster feature films of their times. 

Weapons is getting a prequel based on Aunt Gladys‘s story, while the Hereditary prequel is now getting all the buzz as Ari Aster admits to having written the prequel quite a while ago, as per Deadline. While speaking in the American Cinematheque’s annual Bleak Week Q&A session, Ari Aster said, 

“I wrote a prequel to this. It never feels like the right time. It’s a prequel, not a sequel, so I don’t know where this goes.” [Source]

The 2018 original followed the story of a grieving family who began to experience sinister occurrences when they moved to a house where their grandmother was secretly a part of a cult following a powerful demon, Paimon. The grandmother had used her bloodline to serve them as a host to the demon, which led to the tragic deaths of her daughter, Annie (Toni Collette), and her daughter Charlie (played by Milly Shapiro), eventually culminating in the son, Peter (Alex Wolff), who becomes the demon’s living vessel. 

The movie proved to be his career’s finest, as the supernatural thriller earned a 90% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score with a box office earning of $90.4 million, with a budget of only $10 million. The project was backed by A24, as it has done with all of his features, including Midsommar (2019), Beau Is Afraid (2023), Eddington (2025), and the upcoming Scapegoat. A24 is on fire right now, as its recent horror release, Backrooms, is breaking all records to become the distributor’s highest-grossing film to date.  

Ari Aster says he already wrote a prequel to ‘HEREDITARY’.

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

Full details: [https://t.co/qV04TWR6uE] pic.twitter.com/yF3cfdihqc

— Brad @ Dread Central (@DreadCentral) June 8, 2026

What are the biggest secrets a Hereditary prequel needs to uncover?

We are left hanging in the air about the plot details, cast, and release date for the Hereditary prequel, as the director seems to have no immediate plans to move the project into production. He still seems to be getting forward with his other projects, such as Scarlett Johansson’s Scapegoat, and mentions that he could never find an apt time for the Hereditary prequel. 

When Hereditary first emerged, it was hailed as one of the “elevated horror” masterpieces and modern genre-defining films that changed the cinema. The director stated that he hates the term “elevated horror” as he was trying to work with the long-established horror tradition and pay tribute to the films that influenced him, Rosemary’s Baby (1968) being one of them. It was his honest attempt to create an effective horror movie by using classic genre elements: family, tragedy, occultism, psychological dread, and supernatural terror.  

The prequel could delve into the origins of Annie’s mother’s relationship with the demon Paimon and reveal why her family became central to the cult’s plans. It may explore how the grandmother became devoted to such a vicious entity, what motivated her to sacrifice her own bloodline, and the events that led her to first make contact with the demon.

Reports have previously indicated that Annie was wearing a necklace with Paimon’s symbol on it. In real-world texts from The Lesser Key of Solomon, which is a collection of spells from the 1700s, Paimon is believed to be the king of hell, who is obedient to Lucifer. Despite a D+ CinemaScore, the ending of the movie hit the audience hard, as Peter’s acceptance of Paimon with such comfort was the actual unease of the entire horror film.

It is almost a happy ending for the boy as he accepts his new family. He is no longer scared and no longer crying. Hereditary‘s prequel could be the strongest narrative builder to answer these questions. The possible final chapter could unfold mysteries regarding how deeply the cult had infiltrated the grandmother’s mind and the decades-long culmination of the devil.