Mike Flanagan Will Direct ‘Radical New Take’ on ‘The Exorcist’ Franchise That Won’t Be a ‘Believer’ Sequel

Brian Welk
·2 min read

“The Exorcist” is headed in a new direction. Blumhouse and Morgan Creek have tapped Mike Flanagan (“The Haunting of Hill House”) to write, direct, and produce a “radical new take” on the horror franchise, and it won’t be a sequel to the critically panned “The Exorcist: Believer” from last year.

David Gordon Green was at first set on making a trilogy of films that would continue the story of the original “Exorcist” film, bringing back original star Ellen Burstyn, but those sequels are no longer in the works, and Green exited back in January. “Believer” bombed with just $137 million at the global box office after Blumhouse spent a reported $400 million to acquire the franchise’s IP rights.

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The new “Exorcist” movie, for now untitled and undated, will be an all-new story but still set within the “Exorcist” universe. Trevor Macy is producing for his Intrepid Pictures, and Flanagan will produce for Red Room Pictures. John Scherer is also working on the film on behalf of Intrepid.

Flanagan has worked with Blumhouse three other times, including writing and directing “Oculus” (2013), “Hush” (2016), and “Ouija: Origin of Evil” (2016). He previously directed the miniseries “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and his last feature was the 2019 spinoff of “The Shining” called “Doctor Sleep.” He’s currently wrapping up “The Life of Chuck” based on a Stephen King novella.

“’The Exorcist’ is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker, and it is an honor to have the chance to try something fresh, bold, and terrifying within its universe,” Flanagan said in a statement. Reuniting with my friends at Blumhouse, with whom I’ve made some of my favorite pieces of work, only makes this more exciting.”

Green directed “The Exorcist: Believer” with the hopes of doing for that franchise what he had previously done to revitalize “Halloween,” bringing back original star Jamie Lee Curtis in telling the continued story of Michael Meyers. The reviews for the film were brutal, but it also didn’t help that Taylor Swift decided to surprise release her “Eras Tour” concert film in theaters the day “Believer” was supposed to open, forcing Blumhouse to shift its release plans.

Flanagan, Macy as well as Intrepid and Red Room are represented by WME, with VanderKloot Law also representing Flanagan and Reder & Feig handling Macy.

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