David Gordon Green's THE EXORCIST Revival Reportedly Bringing Back Linda Blair
David Gordon Green is currently developing a revival of The Exorcist with a new trilogy that he is directing. The first has already wrapped production, and according to a recent report by Above the Line, Linda Blair, the actress who played Regan MacNeil in William Friedkin's 1973 film, might be back for the new film!
Apparently, Blair was spotted on the set of the movie over the course of several days. It would make sense to see Blair appear in the film as Ellen Burstyn was already confirmed to return as Chris MacNeil, Regan's mother.
Fans have been hoping to see Blair in the film, which is described as a legacy sequel that will take place after the events of the original 1973 film. The last time we saw the character Regan was in Exorcist II: The Heretic in 1977, which found the demon that possessed her still lurking within her. Meanwhile, a priest investigated the death of the girl's exorcist.
As for the new film, green previously teased what we can expect from it saying:
"I think we'll learn from the production on the first one to see what applies as we evolve. It's honoring Chris MacNeil and we're checking in on her 50 years later, so it's a significant evolution in her character, but I think it'll be really fun to explore.
"We're about to begin on a very different type of technical journey than Halloween. I don't even necessarily categorize it as a horror film, although it's very horror appealing, it's psychological and dramatic. It doesn't have the fun tension-breakers that Halloween would have, because you can't lean into any of the more campy qualities that I think we enjoy from time to time in the Halloween movies. It's dead serious and pretty straightforward, and I don't know, I'm excited about it."
The movie also stars Leslie Odom Jr. as the “father of a possessed child. Desperate for help, he tracks down Ms. Burstyn’s character.” It also stars Jennifer Nettle in a primary role, Ann Dowd (Hereditary), Lidya Jewett (Netflix’s Nightbooks), Raphael Sbarge (Gaslit), and newcomer Olivia Marcum.
Would you be excited to see Linda Blair again in the role of Regan?