Wicker Man Director Sons Complete Late Father Film Trilogy
Justin and Dominic Hardy have completed their late father Robin Hardy’s 1973 folk horror masterpiece The Wicker Man trilogy by finishing the long-lost final film, Wrath of the Gods, after discovering six sacks of scripts and archival material in an attic, according to reports from the BBC.
The journey to realize the late director’s vision began with an unexpected domestic discovery. According to Dominic Hardy, an art historian at the University of Quebec in Montreal, the person who purchased Justin Hardy’s old family home found six sacks of letters, scripts, and production notes pertaining to The Wicker Man stored in the attic. Although Justin’s initial instinct was to burn the papers, the brothers chose to preserve the original source material. This archival haul ultimately revealed a script for a proposed third and final film titled Wrath of the Gods.
Production logistics for the final installment drew inspiration from an unexpected aviation emergency experienced by the elder Hardy. According to Dominic Hardy, his father suffered a health scare when heart medication failed during a flight, forcing the plane to land in Reykjavik, Iceland. Robin Hardy spent a week recuperating in Iceland, where he conceived the premise of a theme park built around an extinct volcano where Norse gods provoke mayhem. He later adapted the concept to fit Shetland, aligning it with the broader folk horror framework of his cinematic universe.
The newly minted production follows a grieving young widow who returns to the island of Hel to bury her late husband following his suicide, only to face ostracization from a superstitious community that views her as a symbol of bad luck. When local children begin disappearing, the community is forced to confront its own dark history. Filming commenced in Shetland in the spring of 2025. The production stars Francis Magee—known for roles in Game of Thrones and Rose of Nevada—alongside Norwegian actress Christiane Schaldemose, while rounding out the ensemble with local talent from Shetland, as reported by the BBC.
This milestone arrives after decades of turbulent history surrounding the intellectual property. Robin Hardy always envisaged his iconic 1973 film as the first part of a trilogy, a dream partially advanced by the 2011 release of The Wicker Tree before his death in 2016 at the age of 86. The original 1973 production faced severe financial distress during its initial shoot in Galloway, where backers struggled and stars including Christopher Lee worked without pay. The film’s troubled financial legacy ultimately bankrupted the director, leaving a complicated personal and professional footprint explored in the 2024 book and documentary Children Of The Wicker Man.
Wrath of the Gods is scheduled to have its premiere at the FrightFest horror festival in London on Friday, marking the definitive closing chapter of a cinematic legacy that began over fifty years ago on a Hebridean-inspired set in Scotland.