The Ring Sequel ‘Rings’ Begins Pre-Production, Will Tell Origin Story of Samara

It’s a fate worse than any Blockbuster late fee from back in the day: if you watch the tape, you die one week later at the hands of Samara Morgan, the black-haired ghost girl who needs no help getting out of the well she calls home. Though the 2002 American remake of 1998's Ringu unveiled some of Samara's backstory (in addition to the 2005 sequel, The Ring Two), there's still much more to explore about the adopted girl in the well, and Paramount is looking to to shed light on the murky horrors of Samara's past with Rings, the upcoming third entry in The Ring remake franchise that's slated for release late this year. Pre-production on the movie recently kicked off in Atlanta, and director F. Javier Gutiérrez shared some photos that give us new glimpses of the black-haired terror from the TV screen and much more.

*[Editor's Note: Now confirmed as a sequel, not prequel] Bloody Disgusting recently reported that Rings, scheduled to come out in 3D, will be set prior to the events of 2002's The Ring, taking place a number of years before the cursed tape even comes into existence, with the origin story of Samara taking center stage. It's unclear at this time how much of the story will incorporate the insights gained about Samara's past in The Ring and The Ring Two.

Gutiérrez shared photos (see below) from pre-production via his Instagram page that give us a look at Samara, an unidentified male character in a storyboard strip, an eerie graveyard setting, and more.

Rings is scripted by Akiva Goldsman, David Loucka and Jacon Aaron Estes and, like The Ring and 1998's Ringu (the original Japanese film), is based on Kôji Suzuki's 1991 horror novel, Ring. Gutiérrez (who was at one point attached to helm The Crow reboot), directs Rings, with Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald producing the project. Rings is slated for a theatrical release on November 13th, 2015 (a calendar slot formerly occupied by the new Friday the 13th movie).

Matilda Lutz, who currently co-stars in the Italian TV series, Fuoriclasse, and also had roles in The Fifth Wheel and Somewhere Beautiful, stars in Rings and is the only cast member revealed thus far.

Curiously, Rings is also the name of a short film directed by Jonathan Liebesman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning), who co-wrote the screenplay with Ehren Kruger (The Ring, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Scream 3). The Rings short came with the The Ring Two DVD and follows a teenager who watches the cursed tape following his induction into a cult called "Rings". No official links, however, have been announced between the short and the upcoming feature film. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates on Rings.