When The Exorcist was released in 1973, the entire world was terrified by the story of a young girl possessed by a demon. Over the years, I’ve read stories of people who watched it on the big screen. People fainted, threw up, cried, or just ran out of the theater in sheer horror.
That original movie got lots of sequels and remakes in the decades since, and there have been plenty of other movies about demonic possession. And now, thanks to Blumhouse Productions, the movie is returning once again in a new trilogy. The first movie will be written and directed by David Gordon Green.
Normally I’d be skeptical of yet another horror movie franchise being remade, but Green knows how to do it well; he proved as much with 2018’s Halloween, which breathed life back into that franchise, and will continue to do so with Halloween Kills later this year.
The new Exorcist movie will star Hamilton’s Leslie Odom Jr. as a father whose daughter is possessed by a demonic spirit. The first movie of the trilogy will also feature the return of Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil from the original film. I assume her character will show up to help Odom with his predicament. After all, Chris can understand his situation better than anyone.
The Exorcist is coming back to theaters…and to Peacock
In a joint team effort, Universal Pictures and Peacock acquired the rights to the new trilogy for around $400 million. The first movie is set to release in theaters in 2023, while the next two movies will premiere on Peacock. The plan seems to be to get people interested with the first film, and then get them to pick up NBC’s streaming service to see the story continue.
Morgan Creek Productions president David Robinson shared his excitement about the upcoming venture. “There’s no better time to be joining forces with the team at Peacock, reuniting with the great team at Universal and finally getting to work with my friends at Blumhouse, than on this classic franchise,” he said. “David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Scott Teems, and Peter Sattler have put together a compelling continuation of this iconic tale and I can’t wait to bring this to fans around the world.”
We can’t wait either, Mr. Robinson. Well, maybe we can wait a little bit; I’m not ready to fend off nightmares and lose sleep just yet.
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