The Exorcist: Raphael Sbarge plays a pastor in David Gordon Green sequel

Director David Gordon Green, who recently made a trilogy of Halloween sequels, is now working on a sequel to the 1973 classic The Exorcist (watch it HERE) – with the hope being that this movie will be the first in a trilogy of Exorcist sequels. Green is planning to direct all three of them. We know that original Exorcist star Ellen Burstyn is reprising the role of Chris MacNeil in the film. We know that Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton) is playing a character who tracks down Chris MacNeil after his child becomes possessed. But we don’t know who their co-stars Lidya Jewett (Nightbooks), Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale), and newcomer Olivia Marcum are playing. So the latest bit of The Exorcist casting news comes with a bit of a surprise: it comes with minor character details! Deadline reports that Raphael Sbarge is in the cast, and he’s playing a pastor.

Sbarge is a prolific character actor who has racked up almost two hundred screen acting credits over the course of his forty year career. That includes roles in the films Risky Business, Vision Quest, and My Science Project, and appearances on TV shows like the Netflix Dahmer series, 1883, Fear the Walking Dead, Hunters, The Blacklist, NCIS: New Orleans, Once Upon a Time, Longmire, Bates Motel, Better Call Saul, NCIS: Los Angeles, Criminal Minds, Dexter, 24, Star Trek: Voyager, CSI: Vegas, CSI: Miami, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and CSI: NY. When I hear the name Raphael Sbarge, I immediately think of the early ’90s movies Carnosaur and The Hidden II, so hearing his name in this casting announcement was a blast from the past.

Green crafted the story for The Exorcist 2023 with Peter Sattler (Broken Diamonds), then wrote the screenplay with Danny McBride (who wrote all three of the new Halloweens with him) and their Halloween Kills co-writer Scott Teems. Story details are being kept under wraps.

Universal and Peacock paid an amount somewhere in the range of $400 million to acquire the rights to distribute this new Exorcist trilogy. Coming to us from Blumhouse Productions and Morgan Creek Entertainment, the films are being produced by Jason Blum, David Robinson, and James Robinson. Green, McBride, and Couper Samuelson serve as executive producers. Ryan Turek is overseeing the project for Blumhouse.

Green’s The Exorcist is scheduled to be released on October 13, 2023. Are you looking forward to seeing the film? Let us know by leaving a comment below.