Now that his Halloween trilogy has been laid to rest, David Gordon Green is set to begin work on filming a forthcoming reboot of the 1970s horror classic The Exorcist, and production is slated to begin shortly.
Released in 1973 , The Exorcist made waves in theaters as one of the scariest horror films released to date, with Ellen Burstyn starring as a mother to daughter Regan, whose changes in behavior spiral into all-out demonic possession. It was followed by a number of sequels, including 1977’s The Exorcist II: The Heretic and 1990’s The Exorcist III. The new century brought a couple more installments, Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) and the Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005), as well as a short-lived Fox television series.
The Exorcist reboot will, like Halloween, be released as a trilogy from Blumhouse and Morgan Creek, with the first installment coming in October 2023. The film is set to begin filming shortly, with Burstyn will reprise her role as Chris MacNeil from the original film along with Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton, Knives Out 2) and Ann Dowd (Heredity). "We start in a couple of weeks, and we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and dive into the next great franchise,” Green said during an interview with Variety. “We’ve got an amazing cast coming together and scripts we’re all excited about.”
While The Exorcist is a lot to live up to, Green expressed confidence in the team working on the reboot. “[I’m] honored to step into something that’s so valuable within cinema history. And knowing that there is a fanbase that is curious, aware, alert, potentially concerned to see what we’re up to. What I like is, people say, ‘Is it stressful?’ No, it’s exciting because I spent so much of my life making movies, and you’re just begging an audience to tune in, or see what’s going on, or buy tickets to the movie," Green said. "With these, I’ve got stories to tell, I’ve got an imagination to express, and the way I can do that within these movies is an incredible opportunity.”
Green has been praised for his reboot trilogy of Halloween, and while the jury is still out on the final installment after opening this past weekend, his involvement bodes well for tackling another '70s horror classic. The original film is considered the gold standard of possession films in the last half-century, setting the bar for those that came after like The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Last Exorcist. Burstyn's performance as the beleaguered single mother seeking help has been praised, by critics. Linda Blair's performance as Regan placed the young actress on the map and elevated her and her character (literally) into the Hollywood horror canon.
Many consider The Exorcist to be the perfect horror movie and a tough act to follow. It also happens to turn 50 next year, proving an excellent time for this exciting new installment.
The Exorcist reboot is scheduled to be released in theaters on October 13, 2023.
Source: Variety