BRITISH filmmaker Justin Hardy, who directed the sequel to his dad’s horror classic The Wicker Man, has died aged 61.
The director’s family said Hardy died on Friday – just weeks before his latest film premiered – after suffering a heart attack.
In a statement the grieving family said: “Our family is devastated to share that Justin Hardy passed away last night.
“He was so full of life right to the end, and incredibly energised to be working towards premiering his latest film this month.
“We are all so proud of him and heartbroken he won’t be with us at his premiere.
“He was a man of family, of boundless creativity, and of devotion for everyone he held dear.”
Hardy studied history at Oxford University before going on to study film in Bournemouth and scriptwriting in California.
During his career Hardy directed series and films including The Bill, Princes In The Tower, Trafalgar Battle Surgeon, The Relief Of Belsen, Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen and London’s Burning.
He was also nominated for an Emmy and a Bafta, and in recent years had been teaching screenwriting at University College London.
His brother, Dominic Hardy, said Justin would be remembered as someone “with an incredible appetite for life.”
In 2024 the brothers released the documentary Children Of The Wicker Man.
It covered their complicated relationship with their dad’s hit film, which initially bombed at the box office before becoming a cult classic.
Filming of The Wicker Man saw dad Robin sacrifice his family life for a film that performed poorly initially.
Before his death aged 86 in 2016 the legendary director of The Wicker Man – Robin Hardy – spoke publicly about his desire to complete trilogy after he released The Wicker Tree in 2011.
After he died, the brothers were contacted and asked about plans for the third film, which Dominic said they then saw as the “impetus to close the chapter on the films.”
The brothers then decided to wrap up their father’s film trilogy.
Released this month, Wrath Of The Gods was inspired by a concept discovered in a recently unearthed script written by Robin and stars Game of Thrones’ Francis Magee and Norwegian actress Christiane Schaldemose.
Dominic: “I really love writing projects like this and if I could write things like this for the rest of my career, that would be great.’”
Justin Hardy is survived by his wife Larissa, and children Sam, Ludo, Nico and Summer.
Wrath Of The Gods will premiere at FrightFest in Leicester Square on August 28.