Barunson E&A Boards ‘Satan’s Slaves: Origin’; Franchise Prequel Billed As Joko Anwar’s Most Ambitious Production
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Barunson E&A, the Korean sales studio behind Bong Joon Ho's Oscar-winning Parasite, has taken on worldwide sales for Satan's Slaves: Origin, a prequel to Indonesian director Joko Anwar's hit horror franchise, pitching it to buyers at the inaugural TIFF Market this September. Billed as one of Southeast Asia's most ambitious genre productions, the standalone origin story traces the cult and demonic pact behind the first two instalments, opening with a 16th-century mass hysteria in Strasbourg inspired by a real 1518 incident before moving to a haunted lighthouse on 17th-century Java, making it Anwar's most sprawling project to date.
Written and directed by Anwar, the film is produced by Rapi Films alongside Come and See Pictures, Sky Media and Legacy Pictures, and remains in pre-production ahead of a targeted 2027 Indonesian release, spanning two continents and seven languages including Alsatian, Portuguese, Javanese, Dutch, Turkish and Latin. It follows Satan's Slaves (2017), Indonesia's top-grossing local film that year, and sequel Satan's Slaves: Communion, the country's first IMAX release; Anwar's separate horror comedy Ghost In The Cell has meanwhile sold to 150 territories under his two-year exclusive partnership with Barunson E&A.
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In short
- Barunson E&A takes worldwide sales on Joko Anwar's Satan's Slaves: Origin
- Prequel spans 16th-century Strasbourg to 17th-century Java, seven languages
- Targeting 2027 Indonesian release; pitched at TIFF Market this September
How this story developed
- 2 months ago Barunson E&A, the Korean studio behind Bong Joon Ho's Oscar-winning Parasite, has taken on worldwide sales for Satan's Slaves: Origin, a prequel to Indonesian director Joko Anwar's hit horror franchise, and will pitch it to buyers at the inaugural TIFF Market this September.
- 2 months ago Korean studio Barunson E&A, known for backing Bong Joon Ho's Oscar-winning Parasite, has taken on worldwide sales for Satan's Slaves: Origin, the third instalment in Indonesian director Joko Anwar's horror franchise.
- 2 months ago Barunson E&A, the Korean sales studio behind Bong Joon Ho's Oscar-winning Parasite, has taken on worldwide sales for Satan's Slaves: Origin, a prequel to Indonesian director Joko Anwar's hit horror franchise, pitching it to buyers at the inaugural TIFF Market this September.
Explained simply
Barunson E&A is the South Korean production and sales company that helped bring Bong Joon Ho's Parasite to global audiences and Oscar success. It has now taken on international sales for Satan's Slaves: Origin, a new film in the horror franchise created by Indonesian director Joko Anwar, and plans to introduce it to potential buyers at the newly launched TIFF Market in September.
The franchise began with Satan's Slaves in 2017, which became Indonesia's highest-grossing domestic film that year, followed by a sequel called Satan's Slaves: Communion. Origin is a prequel exploring the cult and demonic pact that underpin the earlier films, with a story spanning centuries and continents, from 16th-century Europe to 17th-century Java. It is written and directed by Anwar and produced by a group of companies including Rapi Films.
The project matters because it represents a significant expansion for a franchise that has already broken records in Indonesian cinema, and because international sales backing from a company with Barunson's track record can help determine how widely the film reaches audiences beyond Indonesia. It also reflects a broader push by sales agents to bring Southeast Asian genre films to international markets.
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