Wrath of the Gods, the final film in Robin Hardy’s planned Wicker Man trilogy, will premiere at London’s FrightFest horror festival on Friday, completing a project that continued after the director’s death.
Hardy, who died in 2016 aged 86, always intended his 1973 folk horror film The Wicker Man to be the first part of a trilogy. The Wicker Tree, released in 2011, moved the idea closer to reality, but the final instalment remained unfinished until his sons Justin and Dominic Hardy discovered an important family archive.
Wrath of the Gods emerges from a lost archive
The archive was found after a buyer of Justin Hardy’s former family home discovered six sacks of letters, scripts and other material in the attic. The collection also contained papers, storyboards and a script for the proposed third film.
Dominic Hardy, an art historian at the University of Quebec in Montreal, said the family initially left the material unopened for more than six months. Once examined, it offered both the basis for the new film and a clearer account of how Robin Hardy had developed the idea.
The original concept came after Robin Hardy became unwell during a flight. He was forced to land in Reykjavik and spend a week recovering, returning with an idea for a theme park built around an extinct Icelandic volcano, where the Norse gods would become angered and cause chaos. He later decided the story should be set in Shetland, linking it to the other films in the trilogy.
Justin and Dominic developed their own story from that material. It follows a young widow who returns to the island of Hel to bury her husband after his suicide. The community rejects her, viewing her as a sign of evil and misfortune. When children begin to disappear, the island must face its complicated past.
Filming in Shetland
Filming for Wrath of the Gods began in Shetland in spring 2025. The two leading roles are played by Francis Magee, known for Game of Thrones and Rose of Nevada, and Norwegian actor Christiane Schaldemose. Much of the rest of the cast was recruited locally.
Local performers described the production as an intense six-week shoot in Voe. Lynsey Rendall, who plays Magee’s screen wife Maeve, said joining the film was an honour because of the influence The Wicker Man has had on popular culture. John Haswell, who plays the Reverend Knox, said the role was a career highlight.
Seventeen-year-old Martha Robertson was sitting her Highers during filming and said the experience helped her begin a career in acting. One scene required heavy rain and strong wind, but filming took place on an unusually sunny day. The crew blacked out the windows and used a hose and leaf blower to create the required conditions.
The production also carries the legacy of the original film, whose troubled history helped shape its reputation. The Wicker Man was made while the British film industry was experiencing a crisis. Its financial backers struggled, and performers including Christopher Lee worked without payment to help complete it.
Although the story was set on a Hebridean island in spring, the film was shot in Galloway during autumn and early winter. On release, it was largely treated as a second feature, with different edits circulating and stories of missing footage. Its reputation grew over time, helped by its unsettling tone and disturbing climax. Lee regarded it as one of his finest performances, while the BBC’s Moviedrome cult cinema series chose an unseen edit for its opening night in 1988.
A premiere shaped by loss
Justin Hardy, an Emmy- and BAFTA-nominated director, died last month aged 61, shortly before the premiere of Wrath of the Gods. The film’s cast and crew are expected to attend Friday’s screening, which has become both a celebration of the finished work and a tribute to its director.
The completed film is also dedicated to Caroline Hardy, Justin’s mother and a secret, uncredited executive producer of The Wicker Man. She died in 1984 aged 51, before seeing the film receive the recognition it later gained.
For the Hardy family, Wrath of the Gods brings together the legacy of three relatives connected with the trilogy. Dominic said Justin had been proud that the film had been selected by FrightFest, describing the premiere as a deeply poignant but celebratory moment.
Source: BBC News
