A New Exorcist Trilogy Is Coming From Universal and Blumhouse

One of the scariest, most influential horror franchises of all-time is making a mega blockbuster comeback. The New York Times reports that David Gordon Green (the new Halloween films) will write and direct a reboot/sequel in which Hamilton’s Leslie Odom Jr. plays the father of a possessed girl. Desperate for help, he seeks out Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), who was the mother in the 1973 original. It’s the first time she’s returned to the franchise.

News that Gordon Green was working with Blumhouse to bring The Exorcist back first broke late last year. So, the big news here is that now it’s a trilogy, Burstyn is back, and that Universal and Peacock spent upwards of $400 million on the franchise package. The plan is for the first film to debut in theaters sometime in late 2023. Two sequels will then follow, each of which could exclusively debut on Peacock, according to the paper.

Gordon Green is currently getting ready to release Halloween Kills, the sequel to his hit 2018 film, in October, with its sequel, Halloween Ends, out October 2022, rounding out the trilogy. Obviously, it seems Universal, Blumhouse, and everyone involved must be pleased with how that similarly spun franchise reboot/sequel trilogy has turned out. Much like this team is doing with The Exorcist, the new Halloween series ignores most of the lesser sequels that were released, but picks up the original story while bringing back the main protagonist.

The original 1973 Exorcist was such a hit it spawned three direct sequels, a prequel, and then a TV show in the decades since. None of those, however, had the Oscar/Emmy/Tony winner Burstyn, whose participation ties the story right back to the original film.

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