The Wicker Man Woodward's character in "The Wicker Man", the two Americans are virgins who encounter a pagan laird and his followers. The film received mixed reviews. Those involved in the production of the film have given conflicting statements regarding the identity of Christopher Lee's character, referred to only as Old Gentleman in the credits. Writer–director Robin Hardy has stated that the ambiguity was intentional. Fans would immediately recognise Lee's character as Lord Summerisle. Lee himself has contradicted this, stating that the two are not meant to be the same character, and that "The Wicker Tree" is not a sequel in any way.
The Wicker Man (2006 film) later, when it had undergone many changes to become the film "The Wicker Tree". Universal's remake with LaBute moved forward, who changed the Scots setting to contemporary America. The remake rights eventually moved from Universal to Millennium Films. Filming began in Vancouver, Canada in July 2005. Millennium sold distribution rights to Alcon Entertainment for distribution through their output deal with Warner Bros. Pictures. Upon release the film received mostly negative reviews from film critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 107 reviews, with a weighted average score of 3.5/10. The website's