Joko Anwar’s ‘Satan’s Slaves: Origin’ Boarded by Barunson E&A

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…