David Gordon Green Directing EXORCIST Sequel Trilogy and It Will Star Leslie Odom Jr.
As you’ve probably heard by now, Blumhouse is producing a new Exorcist that has now been confirmed to be a sequel to the original 1973 horror classic. Well, not only is it a sequel, but it’s also going to be a trilogy and David Gordon Green is set to direct all three of the films.
It’s also reported that Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami) is set to star in the film and Ellen Burstyn, who received an Oscar nomination for her performance in 1973’s original Exorcist, is returning to the franchise. She played Regan’s mom in the original film.
According to a report from The New York Times, Universal Pictures will officially announce the new Exorcist trilogy sometime this week, and they also say that the studio reportedly paid more than $400 million to make this trilogy happen.
During a recent interview with Total Film, Green shared: "The Exorcist has been written. That was one of my pandemic projects. It’s not inaccurate [that it will be a sequel to the original film]. I like all the Exorcist movies. And not only do I like them, I think they can all fall into the acceptable mythology for what I’m doing. It’s not like I’m saying, 'Pretend that The Exorcist 2 never happened.' That’s fine to exist. They’re all fine to exist, and I enjoy all of them."
I’m happy that they aren’t attempting to remake or reboot the original because that would just be ridiculous. That original film scared the living shit out of me when I first watched it! I had nightmares for weeks! You just can’t replicate that these days, but I hope that can actually bring some terrifying thrills to this sequel.
Green went on to explain, "It’s another fun legacy to be a part of, and hopefully we’ll get that going in the near future. That one is a lot of research, rather than just impulsive screenwriting. That’s one that you talk to a lot of people. You read a lot of books, and do a shit-load of interviews. There was such a dramatic authenticity to what that original film is. It’s a lot more than I anticipated getting into it. And I guess I was naive to think that. But it was very exhilarating to be involved in a lot of those conversations that you find yourself in."
In a previous interview with producer Jason Blum, he opened up about the project and shared a little bit about what we can expect, saying, “[It’s] going to be like David [Gordon Green]’s Halloween sequel. I think it’s going to pleasantly surprise all the skeptics out there. We had a lot of skeptics about Halloween and David turned them around, and I think he’s going to turn it around with The Exorcist.”
He went on to add, “I want to make a movie that works for both [audiences]. I want to make a movie for people that know and love the first Exorcist and are furious that we’re doing this, but somehow drag themselves to the theater. I want them to come out happy. And I want to make a movie that people who’ve never heard of The Exorcist really enjoy. I think David did that with Halloween. I think he’ll do that with The Exorcist also.”
I hope that they can effectively pull this off. I love horror and I especially love horror that can actually scare me. That’s a rare thing these days as I’m desensitized. But, I sure would love to see them make a trilogy of Exorcist movie that will give me nightmares.