Justin Hardy died on Friday night after suffering a heart attack, his family has confirmed. He was 61, and had just completed his latest film, Wrath Of The Gods, a follow-up to his father Robin Hardy's cult classic The Wicker Man.
In a statement to the Press Association, his 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."
'An incredible appetite for life'
His brother Dominic Hardy told PA that Justin would be remembered as someone "with an incredible appetite for life". He added: "After Children Of The Wicker Man, Justin was also going in a new direction and looking forward to writing more scripts. It’s just so sad that that’s not going to happen."
Career and accolades
Throughout his career, Justin 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 nominated for an Emmy and a BAFTA, and in recent years taught screenwriting at University College London.
The Wicker Man legacy
Justin's father, Robin Hardy, was best known for the 1973 folk horror classic The Wicker Man, starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland. The film follows a police officer sent to the fictional Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate a missing girl. Robin died in 2016 at age 86, having spoken publicly about his desire to complete the Wicker Man trilogy after releasing The Wicker Tree in 2011.
In 2024, Justin and Dominic released the documentary Children Of The Wicker Man, which detailed their complicated legacy with their father's film. After their father's death, the brothers were asked about plans for a third film, which Dominic said they saw as the "impetus to close the chapter on the films".
Final film: Wrath Of The Gods
They then decided to wrap up their father’s film trilogy. Wrath Of The Gods, which will premiere at FrightFest in Leicester Square on August 28, was inspired by a concept discovered in a recently unearthed script written by Robin. It stars Game of Thrones' Francis Magee and Norwegian actress Christiane Schaldemose.
The film follows a woman isolated on an island where she is "torn between the ghosts of the past and the gods of the present" before being forced to confront "dark family secrets lurking in the shadows".
Justin is survived by his wife, Larissa, and children Sam, Ludo, Nico and Summer.
