Universal Pictures and Peacock forked over an amount somewhere in the range of $400 million to acquire the rights to distribute a trilogy of sequels to the 1973 classic The Exorcist, which we’re going to another collaboration between Blumhouse Productions and directed David Gordon Green (who recently delivered a trilogy of Halloween sequels), they were definitely expecting the first entry in the new trilogy to go over better with audiences than The Exorcist: Believer did when it was released last October. (You can read our 4/10 review HERE.) The box office numbers were okay, the movie pulled in $137 million on a $30 million budget, but Universal was hoping for a lot better than “okay,” and the reactions were largely negative. Soon after the release of Believer, we heard that Universal and Blumhouse still intended to carry out the trilogy, but the follow-ups would be reworked. While speaking to The Direct this week, producer / Blumhouse founder Jason Blum confirmed that the next Exorcist movie (previously announced as The Exorcist: Deceiver) is being redeveloped – so, as of right now, not even he knows what it’s going to be.
At one point, The Exorcist: Deceiver was locked in for an April 18, 2025 release date, with Green expected to return to direct from a screenplay he had already worked out. But since the disappointment of Believer, Green has left the sequel and it was removed from the release schedule.
Blum told The Direct that the movie was pulled from its 2025 release date so it can be redeveloped. “We are definitely going to make another Exorcist movie, but I wanted more time to figure out what it would be. I have no idea what it’s going to be yet.“
Green crafted the story for The Exorcist: Believer with Danny McBride (who wrote all three of the new Halloweens with him) and their Halloween Kills co-writer Scott Teems, then wrote the screenplay with Peter Sattler (Broken Diamonds). Here’s the synopsis: Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding has raised their daughter on his own. 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.
Ellen Burstyn reprised the role of Chris MacNeil, the character she played in the 1973 classic The Exorcist, “an actress who has been forever altered by what happened to her daughter Regan five decades before.” She was joined in the cast by Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton) as Victor, Lidya Jewett (Nightbooks) as Angela, and newcomer Olivia O’Neill as Angela’s friend Katherine. Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale) played Victor and Angela’s neighbor, and Jennifer Nettles (The Righteous Gemstones) and Norbert Leo Butz (Fosse/Verdon) played Katherine’s parents. Original The Exorcist star Linda Blair was in there as well, reprising the role of Chris MacNeil’s daughter Regan. Okwui Okpokwasili (Master) was in the cast as Doctor Beehibe, and Raphael Sbarge (Carnosaur) played a pastor.
The Exorcist: Believer was produced by Jason Blum, David Robinson, and James Robinson. Green, McBride, Stephanie Allain, and Couper Samuelson serve as executive producers. Ryan Turek oversaw the project for Blumhouse.
If Jason Blum doesn’t know what The Exorcist: Deceiver (or whatever ends up being called) is yet, it’s probably going to be quite a while before the rest of us will find out what it’s going to be about. Are you interested in seeing more Exorcist movies? Let us know by leaving a comment below.