In the late ’90s, John Frankenheimer (“The Manchurian Candidate”) was supposed to direct an ‘Exorcist’ prequel, titled ‘Dominion’. Frankenheimer eventually left the project because his health was declining —he passed away soon after— and was replaced by Paul Schrader.
Much has been made about Schrader’s turbulent time making this film, and he’s now looking back on the chaos, telling MovieWeb that he should have never gotten involved in the project, and that he wholly regrets doing it:
I shouldn’t have done it. It was not something I was really suited for. I thought I could pull it off, but if I had that opportunity again, I would say, ‘I think I will stick to what I do best.
Schrader was never a good fit for this film, but he somehow decided to hop onboard and direct it. It should be noted that it’s the only time he’s ever helmed a sequel or prequel in his career.
The script for “Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist” ended up being a mash-up of of six different drafts. When Warner Bros. saw Schrader’s 130-minute cut in 2003, they complained about the lack of scares and gores, and immediately called for rewrites, reshoots, and re-edits.
Schrader ended up getting fired, replaced by Renny Harlin to direct the reshoots. This resulted in the film being retitled ”Exorcist: The Beginning,” and finally coming out in 2004.
“Exorcist: The Beginning,” which had a budget nearing $100M, bombed with critics and audiences. The following month, Morgan Creek Productions started working with Schrader on getting a cut of his movie released. It received a limited theatrical release in 2005, and reached home video later that year.
Schrader and Harlin’s cuts put a nail in the coffin of the horror franchise for nearly two decades. It was only 18 years later that Universal Pictures went all-in on a new trilogy of ‘Exorcist’ movies, dishing out $400M for the film rights and hiring David Gordon Green to oversee the entire thing.