What better time to begin filming the highly-anticipated revival of the classic Exorcist franchise than during the sacred Halloween season? It is definitely time for the acclaimed filmmaker David Gordon Green to begin filming the first installment of the trilogy that will revive the Exorcist brand, which has been dormant for almost two decades since the publication of Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist in 2005.
While addressing to the media at the screening of his most recent horror film, Halloween Ends, Green was gracious enough to share information about his next major project with excited fans.
When asked for an update on the Exorcist revival, the filmmaker told Variety, “We start in a couple weeks, and we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and plunge into the next great property.” “An incredible ensemble is coming together, and we’re all enthused about the writing,” Green added.
Green, who was before recognized for his work in drama and comedy, captured the hearts of horror fans when he joined the revival of the Halloween franchise and finally provided a riveting, gory experience. Green has his sights set on updating yet another classic horror property with The Exorcist, which, like Halloween, will be a retcon and will aim to establish linkages between prior films.
The as-yet-untitled Exorcist film will be a direct sequel to William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973), the first horror film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Green would like to continue this history, and based on his recent performance, he has demonstrated that he is more than capable of doing so. Universal entrusts him to direct the $400 million-budgeted trilogy, and needless to say, we’re cheering for him.
The return of franchise veteran Ellen Burstyn to the remake, after she first declined the opportunity to reprise her role in earlier sequels, has fans even more excited, and anticipation levels are at an all-time high.
Burstyn said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter that production for the remake had already begun and that she had already filmed many scenes for her character. This appears to contradict Green’s previous words, but it might suggest that Green was talking to the film’s main production in his interview and that only Burstyn’s sequences had been shot in advance.
In addition to Burstyn, Leslie Odom Jr. (The Many Saints of Newark) and Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale) will feature in the Exorcist remake. In the collaboration with Scott Teems and Danny McBride, Green crafted the plot for the first film in the reboot.
Peter Sattler and Green co-wrote the script. Jason Blum, David Robinson, and James Robinson will act as producers, whilst Green, McBride, and Couper Samuelson will serve as executive producers.
The Exorcist revival is scheduled to debut in theatres on October 13, 2023, only a few months before the 50th anniversary of the original picture.