Guillermo Del Toro Once Pitched A Sequel To The Greatest Horror Movie Ever (And Failed)

Guillermo del Toro's list of unmade projects is full of great ideas he could bring to life with aplomb, and knowing they won't ever see the light of day is incredibly frustrating. Some examples include his planned adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountain of Madness" and "Hellboy 3," both of which fell apart due to factors beyond del Toro's control. Heartbreakingly, we can also add "The Exorcist 4" to the list of dreams that won't ever come true — an idea the Oscar-winning director pitched after making "Mimic."

In a 2006 interview with The Guardian, del Toro revealed that he wanted to helm a film that was tentatively titled "Exorcist: Chapter 4 Verse I," which would have centered around Father Merrin investigating the death of a priest who was killed by a possessed child in the Vatican. Here's what the director had to say about the unrealized project:

"This is the second time [Father Merrin] faces the devil, the first time being in eastern Europe. In my take, the devil, in the guise of a young Nazi officer, says at the end of that episode, 'You and I will face each other again. I will attempt to take three children in your lifetime. If you succeed in saving one of them, you will be free. If you don't, you will be mine.' And that was very epic, setting up what followed."

Guillermo del Toro's movies often contain thought-provoking religious themes, and his credentials as a horror auteur are undeniable. In short, he is arguably the perfect filmmaker to helm a movie of this ilk, so what led to his "Exorcist 4" pitch being rejected?

Guillermo del Toro's unmade "Exorcist" sequel sounds like a fitting companion piece to the other movies in the franchise, but the project didn't make it past the pitching stage since possession movies weren't popular at the time. In the aforementioned interview, the director recalled his idea being warmly received at meetings with studio execs, only to be derailed by one deal-breaking decision:

"So, I finished my take about 'The Exorcist,' and they listened patiently and then said, 'That's fantastic, but there's only one thing. We want the movie but we don't want there to be an exorcism in it.' So, I said, 'But it's called 'The Exorcist.” 'Yeah, but the last movie had an exorcism, and it didn't make money.' That was the last meeting I took on that one."

The good news? Hollywood is open to this franchise telling stories about possessions again. As of this writing, Mike Flanagan is working on an "Exorcist" movie, which will probably be awesome as knows a thing or two about making acclaimed horror flicks with religious themes. Be that as it may, there are many horror fans out there who probably long to see del Toro's take on an "Exorcist" movie, but that ship appears to have sailed.