The enduring legacy of Robin Hardy’s 1973 folk horror masterpiece, The Wicker Man, has reached a long-awaited conclusion. Hardy had long intended for the film to serve as the inaugural entry in a thematic trilogy. While the 2011 release of The Wicker Tree advanced this creative ambition, the director’s passing in 2016 at age 86 left the final installment unfinished.
A Fortuitous Archival Recovery
The project’s completion was made possible through an unexpected turn of events involving the Hardy family estate. Dominic and Justin Hardy recently recovered a script for the concluding film, Wrath of the Gods, which is scheduled to premiere at London’s FrightFest horror festival this Friday.
- The discovery occurred when the new owner of Justin’s former residence contacted the family regarding six sacks of documents found in the attic.
- These containers held various scripts, personal correspondence, and production materials related to the original film.
- Dominic Hardy, an art historian based at the University of Quebec in Montreal, noted that the initial impulse was to destroy the items.
- Despite the urge to discard the collection, the brothers recognized the historical significance of the documents, though they hesitated for over half a year before examining the contents.
This archival recovery allowed the brothers to fulfill their father’s creative dream, bringing closure to a cinematic saga spanning more than half a century. The report also notes that robin Hardy always envisaged his iconic 1973 folk horror film The Wicker Man as the first part of a trilogy.
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