The Exorcist: Everything We Know So Far About David Gordon Green's Horror Sequel Trilogy
Come for the "Halloween" reboot, stay for the "The Exorcist" reboot — or so we hope. The 1973 William Friedkin original looms large in our horror hearts and minds, so it's no surprise that someone wants to rebuild it and repackage it for a modern audience. Whether or not it lives up to the terror inflicted by the original remains to be seen, but lord knows they will try their hardest to come close.
"I want to make a movie that works for both [audiences]," producer Jason Blum told Den of Geek in June 2021. "I want to make a movie for people that know and love the first 'Exorcist' and are furious that we're doing this, but somehow drag themselves to the theater. I want them to come out happy. And I want to make a movie that people who've never heard of 'The Exorcist' really enjoy. I think David [Gordon Green] did that with 'Halloween.' I think he'll do that with 'The Exorcist' also."
Read on to discover everything we know so far about the upcoming "The Exorcist" reboot film.
When and where to watch The Exorcist
It was previously reported that the first new "Exorcist" entry will scare its way into theatres for the Halloween season next year with an October 13, 2023 release date. However, the second two installments in the trilogy have yet to receive any release information, so presumably, the next one wouldn't arrive until at least 2025.
What The Exorcist will be about, and its cast
Here's what we know about the premise of the upcoming reboot, and how it will play into the original film. "Hamilton" star Leslie Odom Jr. will play the father of a child who is seemingly demonically possessed. In his desperation, he turns to Chris MacNeil, the mother from the first film, for advice. Ellen Burstyn will reprise her original Oscar-nominated role as MacNeil. However, Linda Blair — who is perhaps best known for playing Burstyn's daughter Regan in the original movie — will not be returning to her career-making part.
In August 2022, it was reported that Ann Dowd had joined the cast in an undisclosed role, and some fans are speculating that she could be taking on the role of older Regan. It's a pretty plausible assumption with Blair out of the mix, and I, for one, would love to see Dowd take on another meaty role like that. Regan clearly would grow up to sustain some major psychological damage from what happened to her, and Dowd is such a powerhouse that it's undeniable that she would be able to do it justice. However, it seems we'll have to wait to find out exactly how she plays into the reboot's story.
This trilogy will also seemingly ignore the many sequels of "The Exorcist" and position itself as the next subsequent installments following the original film. Bold move, but that is the way of a lot of reboots nowadays.
What we know about the creators and crew of The Exorcist
David Gordon Green, director of the new "Halloween" franchise, is set to helm the new "Exorcist" trilogy. The script was written by Peter Sattler and Green, from a story by Scott Teems, Green and actor Danny McBride, the trio responsible for the groundwork of the "Halloween" series.
The new reimagining will be distributed by Universal and Peacock, with Morgan Creek Entertainment and Blumhouse producing the film. Blumhouse boss Jason Blum appears to be incredibly supportive of rebooting the classic franchise. In September 2021, he told CinePOP:
"What I hope to do with 'The Exorcist' is the same thing we did with 'Halloween.' The first movie was great, and the second movie was okay, and the rest of them were not very good. And then we came in and kind of re-jiggered it, and people liked it, so I hope we can do the same thing with 'The Exorcist.' Everyone thinks we're gonna fall on our face, but I think, we have the same filmmaker, the same writer, David Gordon Green and Danny McBride. And I think we'll reinvent 'The Exorcist' so that it'll feel fresh, new, different, but, you know, related to the first movie, but also really, really scary."