Movies Isabelle Fuhrman to resurrect Esther role in Orphan prequel By Lauren Huff Lauren Huff Lauren Huff is a writer at Entertainment Weekly with over a decade of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry. After graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook 'em, Horns!), Lauren wrote about film, television, awards season, music, and more for the likes of The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood, Us Weekly, Awards Circuit, and others before landing at EW in May 2019. EW's editorial guidelines Published on November 2, 2020 06:06PM EST Photo: Walter McBride/Getty Images; Everett Collection Isabelle Fuhrman, who originated the skin-crawling role of Esther, a murderous woman with proportional dwarfism pretending to be a 9-year-old in 2009's Orphan, is reprising her role in a prequel. The plot of the new film is being kept under wraps, but in the first film, it's revealed that Esther is really a woman named Leena Klammer, who has murdered at least seven other people, including the last family who tried to adopt her. The Boy and The Devil Inside filmmaker William Brent Bell will direct the film and David Coggeshall is penning the screenplay. Dark Castle Entertainment and Entertainment One are producing the new flick, which is beginning production soon. The original film — which was produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, among others, and also starred Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard—earned $78 million worldwide on a reported $20 million budget. In addition to her terrorizing turn as Esther, Fuhrman is known for her roles as Clove in The Hunger Games and as Tessa Johnson on Showtime's series Masters of Sex. She will be seen next in the January release Escape Room 2. Variety was first to report Fuhrman's casting. Related content: Orphan prequel Esther in the works from The Boy director Hunger Games: Isabelle Fuhrman on becoming Clove Orphan: EW review