UPDATE: Flanagan hasn’t exited the project.
Last year, Mike Flanagan, hopped on-board to direct the next two ‘Exorcist’ movies, with the first instalment, titled “Exorcist: Deceiver,” completely nixed for a rewrite.
Blumhouse initially set a March 13, 2026 release date for Flanagan’s ‘Exorcist,’ but the film was then quietly pulled from the release schedule earlier this summer, with no explanation. At the time, it seemed like a matter of Flanagan’s crowded slate — though in hindsight, the move may have signaled deeper issues behind the scenes.
Jeff Sneider has revealed on the latest episode of The Hot Mic podcast that Flanagan‘s attachment to the upcoming Universal/Blumhouse project. Is in wobbly waters. Industry chatter suggests creative differences emerged between the filmmaker and the studio, most notably about the casting.
The alleged sticking point? Flanagan reportedly pushed to cast his wife and frequent collaborator, artistic muse, Kate Siegel, in the film’s lead role — a request Universal and Blumhouse were not willing to accommodate. The director has long made Siegel a fixture in his work, with the actress appearing in nearly all of his Netflix series and features.
Flanagan was initially touted as having “total creative freedom” on this next chapter of the franchise. Universal and Blumhouse were undoubtedly counting on him to steady the Exorcist brand and push it back into fighting shape. If Sneider’s report holds water, that creative freedom they claimed came with clear limits.
A few years ago, filmmaker David Gordon Green called it quits on the franchise and decided to sign on to a couple of indies instead. After the poor reception of “Exorcist: 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 $400M investment for the rights to the franchise. “Exorcist: Believer” was panned by both critics (22% on RT) and audiences (‘C’ CinemaScore) and ended up only grossing $136M.