Three years later The Exorcist The franchise has flopped spectacularly for Universal, with the iconic horror property set to return under writer-director Mike Flanagan with a new film starring Scarlett Johansson.
Below is the first trailer for The Exorcist: Martyrswhich is described as “a radical new take on the most terrifying title in cinematic horror history.” In the film, Johansson plays NYPD homicide detective Julie Miller, who investigates a murderer named Father Sunday (John Leguizamo), a priest (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and a new series of murders that threaten Miller’s 12-year-old son (Jacobi Jupe).
Flanagan is a prolific horror writer-director who has tackled several Stephen King tales (Gerald’s game, Doctor Sleep, Carrie) and delivered several successes in limited series for Netflix (Midnight mass, The Fall of House Usher).
The film represents Universal trying to break the franchise’s box office curse.
In 2021, the studio paid a whopping $400 million for the rights to the franchise – launched with William Friedkin’s 1973 blockbuster – in a deal that included the budgets for a trio of planned feature films. The idea was to try to echo the playbook of David Gordon Green’s hit cover of Halloween. But Green’s 2023 film, The Exorcist: Believerwhich returned original star Ellen Burstyn to the franchise, only grossed $137 million worldwide amid poor reviews. The second announced film in the trilogy, The Exorcist: the deceiverwas demolished in 2024.
Then, Universal turned to Flanagan to reboot the reboot.
The Exorcist: Martyrs will be released in theaters on March 12, 2027.
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