The Exorcist: Believer director David Gordon Green on exploring “multiple spiritual perspectives” with the sequel

Last Updated on August 3, 2023

Following in the footsteps of one of the greatest horror movies of all time is no easy task, but David Gordon Green is ready to give it a shot (again) with The Exorcist: Believer. While speaking with The Wrap, Green discussed the upcoming Exorcist sequel and how he plans to give the franchise a fresh take by exploring “multiple spiritual perspectives.“

“I couldn’t wrap my head around a one-philosophy type of ‘Exorcist’ movie,” David Gordon Green said. After reading about how different religions tackle the idea of possession, he came across the idea of synchronized possession. “My mind was blown and I started making phone calls and started talking to the quote, unquote experts because it’s a very unique subject matter and people have experienced things or claimed to have experienced things,” Green said. “And I just wanted to invite all these voices and stories and theories into my creative whirlpool.“

David Gordon Green has already tackled a direct sequel to a classic horror movie with Halloween (as well as Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends), but he feels as though the world of The Exorcist is very different. “[The Exorcist] feels like it’s happening to people that I can see myself knowing on this earth,” Green said. “Halloween is such a heightened, stylistic version of something that’s engineered to scare you, because that’s the rollercoaster of a slasher genre is. Those are really fun nuances to try to create and propel and experience with an audience. But this is more of a considered earthly, relatable journey of horror.“

“Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding has raised their daughter on his own,” reads the official synopsis for The Exorcist: Believer. “But when Angela and her friend Katherine, disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil.“

Universal and Blumhouse have already slated another sequel, The Exorcist: Deceiver, which is set to hit theaters on April 18, 2025. While it’s expected that Green will return to direct that movie as well, nothing has been confirmed. While Green says that they’ve got “scripts, outlines, and things like that” for the second and third films, he’s waiting to see how the first one is received before making any big decisions.

I think the smartest thing to do is to see how it plays and then see what makes the most sense. And what makes the most sense for me is not always what’s the most successful. Sometimes, for me, it’s what did you leave untold? Or what did you not execute that you can go exercise that muscle? Or what’s the least obvious thing, or least expected thing, or how do you challenge yourself?

The Exorcist: Believer will hit theaters on October 13th.