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 Maiden wrote a song called "The Wicker Man," inspired by the film, for their 2000 album "Brave New World". In May 2016, British band Radiohead released the music video for a song named "Burn the Witch", made in stop-motion animation and whose storyline greatly resembles that of "The Wicker Man". A novelization which expanded on the story and bearing the same title, was released in 1978. It was written by Hardy and Shaffer. In 1989, Shaffer wrote a thirty-page film script treatment entitled "The Loathsome Lambton Worm", a direct sequel to "The Wicker Man", for producer Lance Reynolds. It would