We already knew that Mike Flanagan, who recently wrapped his 11th feature, “The Life of Chuck,” was going to direct the next two ‘Exorcist’ films but, otherwise, details were sparse as to what to expect with this next one.
THR is now reporting that the film will be a total “makeover”. They’re starting from scratch, again. Flanagan’s film is being described as a “radical new take” on the franchise, one that will be set in the ‘Exorcist’ universe but will not be a sequel to last year’s “Exorcist: Believer.”
In essence, this news closes the door on the planned sequels to ‘Believer’, which brought back Ellen Burstyn, who starred in the 1973 original. It’s back to square one when it comes to this franchise. as Flanagan is said to have total creative freedom for this reboot.
Last year, filmmaker David Gordon Green, who directed ‘Believer,’ called it quits on the franchise and decided to direct a couple of indies as his next projects instead. After the poor reception of ‘Believer,’ there had been reporting that a creative re-think would be done for the next two films, this after Green had expressed doubts about his future participation.
Blumhouse owes Universal two more ‘Exorcist’ movies. The studio shelled out a $400 million investment for the rights of the franchise. Last year’s “Exorcist: Believer” was panned by both critics (22% on RT) and audiences (‘C’ CinemaScore) and ended up grossing only $136 million. From a business standpoint, a fresh new voice is the way to go with these next few films.
The writing was on the wall. In May 2022, a little over six months before it would be released, ‘Believer’ test-screened in NYC and the response was terrible. A few months later, it tested again, and the response was just as negative.
Flanagan’s last film was 2019’s “Doctor Sleep”, which was based on Stephen King’s follow-up to “The Shining”. He’s well-respected within the horror genre, having also helmed “Oculus,” “Hush” and “Gerald’s Game.” His successful television output includes “The Haunting of Hill House,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” for Netflix.
Flanagan no doubt has a lot of pressure to steer the ‘Exorcist’ franchise back into form, especially with the late William Friedkin’s ghost watching over him.