The untitled ''The Exorcist'' film is an upcoming American

supernatural horror Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. A ...

film directed by

David Gordon Green David Gordon Green is an American filmmaker. He directed the dramas ''George Washington'' (2000), ''All the Real Girls'' (2003), and '' Snow Angels'' (2007), as well as the thriller '' Undertow'' (2004), all of which he wrote or co-wrote. In 2 ...

, with a screenplay he co-wrote with Peter Sattler, from a story he co-authored with

Scott Teems Scott Teems is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''That Evening Sun'' (2009), '' The Quarry'' (2020), ''Halloween Kills'' (2021), and '' Firestarter'' (2022). Career In 2009, Teems started his car ...

and

Danny McBride Daniel Richard McBride (born December 29, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He starred in the HBO television series '' Eastbound & Down'', ''Vice Principals'', and ''The Righteous Gemstones'', also co-creating the ...

. It stars

Leslie Odom Jr. Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. (; born August 6, 1981) is an American actor and singer. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical ''Hamilton'', which earned him a Tony Award f ...

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

Ann Dowd Ann Dowd (born January 30, 1956) is an American actress. She has played supporting roles in numerous films, including ''Green Card'' (1990), ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), ''Philadelphia'' (1993), '' Garden State'' (2004), ''The Manchurian Candidate'' ...

and

Jennifer Nettles Jennifer Odessa Nettles (born September 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer. Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this she fronted the Atlanta-based band ...

. The film is part of the franchise based on the 1971 novel of the same name by

William Peter Blatty William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel, ''The Exorcist'', and for his 1974 screenplay for the film adaptation of the same name. Blatty won ...

, and will serve as a direct sequel to

William Friedkin William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in t ...

's 1973 film adaptation. While the film will retroactively affect continuity of the franchise, all of the previous installments will still remain

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

to its premise. It is intended to be the first of three new ''Exorcist'' films and the sixth installment of ''The Exorcist'' franchise overall. The film is scheduled to be released by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

on October 13, 2023.

Synopsis

The father of a

possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

child, desperate for help goes in search of someone who has had similar experiences, Chris MacNeil.

Cast

as Chris MacNeil *

* Lidya Jewett * Olivia Marcum *

Raphael Sbarge Raphael Sbarge (born February 12, 1964) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Jake Straka on ''The Guardian'' (2001–04), Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archibald Hopper on ''Once Upon a Time'' (2011–18) and Insp ...

Okwui Okpokwasili Okwui Okpokwasili (; born August 6, 1972) is an American artist, performer, choreographer, and writer. Her multidisciplinary performances draw upon her training in theatre, and she describes her work as at "the intersection of theatre, dance, and ...

Production

Development

In August 2020, it was reported that

Morgan Creek Entertainment Morgan Creek Entertainment is an American film production company that has released box-office hits including '' Young Guns'', '' Dead Ringers'', '' Major League'', ''True Romance'', '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', '' The Crush'', '' Robin Hood: ...

would be producing a new installment in ''The Exorcist'' franchise, as a

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

. A tentative theatrical release window of 2021 was planned by the studio. Ben Pearson of ''

Slash Film ''/Film'', also spelled ''Slashfilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. Podcasts Six podcasts have run on the site. ''The /Filmcast'', hosted by David Chen, De ...

'' noted that the studio had previously stated that it would "never attempt to remake ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...

''" but that it would also obtain the "blessings of their library titles' original creators before they move forward with new entries". In December 2020, it was clarified that the project in development would be a direct-sequel and follow-up to the original film, with

in early negotiations to serve as director.

Jason Blum Jason Ferus Blum "Jason Ferus Blum was born in LA in 1969 to Shirley Neilsen, an art professor, and Irving Blum, an art dealer" (; born 1969) is an American film and television producer. He is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, whic ...

, David Robinson, and James Robinson serve as producers. In July 2021, it was reported that a trilogy of sequels were concurrently in development with Green hired to direct the first of the new installments, from a script he co-wrote with Peter Sattler, from an original story he co-wrote with

and

. Green, McBride, Couper Samuelson and

Stephanie Allain Stephanie Allain (born October 30, 1959) is an American producer of independent movies in Hollywood, California. Early life Stephanie Allain was born in New Orleans to an African-American father Dr. Charles Allain, a biochemist, and a white m ...

serve as executive producers. Prior to acquiring the series' rights from Morgan Creek Entertainment, the writing team and Blum spent early 2020 devising the story over

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...

. The projects are joint-venture productions between

Blumhouse Productions Blumhouse Productions (; also known as BH Productions or simply BH) is an American film and television production company founded in 2000 by Jason Blum. It is known mainly for producing horror films, such as ''Paranormal Activity'', ''Insidio ...

and Morgan Creek Entertainment with

distributing. Universal collaborated with

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

to purchase distribution rights for $400 million total. Parts two and three of the trilogy were optioned as potential Peacock exclusive films. By October 2021, Green expressed his intentions to direct all three films, with script outlines completed for the latter two films that he co-wrote with Sattler. .

Casting

reprised her role as Chris MacNeil from the original film, with

co-starring a father of a possessed child who tracks down Chris.

, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum and

have undisclosed roles.

joined the cast as a pastor.

has a "primary role" in the film.

Filming

In early 2022, Burstyn stated that she had completed production for her part in the film. Though Green had previously stated that he would begin work on the sequel after completing ''

Halloween Ends ''Halloween Ends'' is a 2022 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green and co-written by Green, Danny McBride, Paul Brad Logan and Chris Bernier. It is the sequel to ''Halloween Kills'' (2021), the thirteenth installment in the ''Ha ...

'', given the actress's age and the risks of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the production team worked with Burstyn to make sure they have her part completed for the film.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began in November 2022, in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. Burstyn was brought in that month for reshoots. In mid-December, production was shut down early for the holidays after Leslie Odom Jr. suffered an "unspecified health issue". Filming wrapped in early March 2023.

Release

The untitled sequel to ''The Exorcist'' is set to be released by

on October 13, 2023.

Future

In July 2021, two sequels were confirmed to be in development with the same creative team of Green, McBride, Sattler, and Teems on board.

References

External links

* {{David Gordon Green 2023 films 2023 horror films 2020s English-language films 2020s supernatural horror films American sequel films American supernatural horror films Blumhouse Productions films Demons in film The Exorcist films Films about exorcism Films directed by David Gordon Green Films produced by Jason Blum Films impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic Morgan Creek Productions films Religious horror films Supernatural drama films Universal Pictures films Upcoming sequel films Works by Scott Teems 2020s American films Alternative sequel films