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Joko Anwar’s “Satan’s Slaves: Origin” (original title: “Pengabdi Setan 3: Origin”), the next chapter in the filmmaker’s blockbuster horror franchise, has been boarded for worldwide sales by Barunson E&A, the Korean
studio behind Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite.”
The company will launch the project to international buyers at the Toronto Film Festival’s inaugural market this September.
Though it’s the third film in the franchise, “Satan’s Slaves: Origin” stands alone as a prequel, tracing the cult and demonic pact behind the first two movies back to their source. The story opens with an outbreak of mass hysteria in 16th-century Strasbourg, drawing on a real incident recorded in 1518, then jumps to a haunted lighthouse on Java’s southern coast in the 17th century. It’s the most ambitious production of Anwar’s career to date, spanning two continents and filmed in seven languages – Indonesian, Alsatian, Portuguese, Javanese, Dutch, Turkish and Latin.
“This film is everything I didn’t know I was building toward – the one that finally answers where the curse came from, why it never stopped, and what it’s really after,” Anwar said. “Longtime fans are going to get the answers they’ve waited years for. Newcomers are going to get the ride of their lives.”
Rapi Films is producing, with Anwar writing and directing and Come and See Pictures, Sky Media and Legacy Pictures co-producing. The film is in pre-production, targeting a 2027 theatrical release in Indonesia.
The “Satan’s Slaves” name carries weight in Indonesia: Rapi Films’ original 1980 version is a local cult classic, Anwar’s 2017 revival topped the year’s local box office and is credited with jump-starting the country’s current horror boom, and 2022’s “Satan’s Slaves: Communion” became the first Indonesian film to play in Imax and remains among the six highest-grossing local releases ever.
The deal extends an existing two-year exclusive partnership between Anwar and Barunson E&A, whose last collaboration, “Ghost in the Cell,” currently sits at No. 2 on Indonesia’s local box office chart for the year. That horror-comedy bowed at the Berlin Film Festival and has since pulled in over 3.3 million local admissions and sold to 150 territories, with Plaion taking Germany and Well Go USA taking North America.
Choi Yoonhee, CEO of Barunson E&A, said, “Every time we work with Joko Anwar, the scale gets bigger and the ambition gets sharper. ‘Satan’s Slaves: Origin’ is unlike anything he’s made – a story that moves across centuries and continents. It’s proof of what we’ve believed for years: Indonesian filmmakers are telling some of the boldest genre stories in the world right now, and we’re proud to help this one reach it.”
It’s the latest in a run of Asian genre pickups for Barunson E&A, which has also boarded Banjong Pisanthanakun’s “Inherit,” the Indonesian zombie thriller “Zona Merah: Dead City” and the Korean occult title “Stoneborn,” from the makers of “Exhuma.”
