Mike Flanagan’s ‘Exorcist’ Movie Won’t Be One Long Sermon: ‘This Should Just Be Really Scary’

Ben Travers
·3 min read

Mike Flanagan is a fan of monologues. From his films (like “Doctor Sleep” and “Gerald’s Game”) to his TV series (including “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Midnight Mass”), many a Flanagan character has embarked on a long speech — often uncut but always meticulously edited.

But when he was in talks to direct the next iteration of “The Exorcist” franchise, the executives in charge were “concerned” about the film getting too talky.

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“Part of what I said to Blumhouse and Universal when we were discussing this was I don’t think this is a monologue project,” Flanagan said while speaking on a panel at the ATX TV Festival. “The ritual itself is something of a monologue, but we’ve seen that. We’ve seen somebody shout prayers at somebody. That was scary 50 years ago, I don’t see that working here.”

Still, given Flanagan’s history, he said he understood why they would be concerned. (Earlier in the panel, Flanagan admitted he sold “The Haunting of Hill House” to Netflix with the promise of a visceral ending filled with “big fireworks.” Instead, “it’s all monologues,” he said.)

“We just think it’s theatrical, and younger audiences drive horror. That’s a fact,” Flanagan said, paraphrasing feedback from the studio executives. “A lot of the audiences who will come see this likely haven’t seen the original, and aren’t going to be impressed by any allusions to that. So this isn’t really where you want to do the long monologues about religion.”

“And I said, ‘I completely agree with you,'” Flanagan said. “And if it makes you feel any better, I made that show. I already got it out of my system. This should just be really scary.”

Flanagan was referencing “Midnight Mass,” the 2021 Netflix limited series that’s so Catholic, it delivers a few of its monologues via a priest’s homily from the pulpit. But like that show and the rest of his emotionally rich work, Flanagan said he would still make sure the new “Exorcist” film would feature characters you care about.

“That means with the character work, it’s still on me to make them real and emotionally relevant,” he said. “But this isn’t the project where we should be monologuing.”

Flanagan’s involvement with the new “Exorcist” film was confirmed earlier this week, when it was announced the writer, director, and producer would create “a radical new take” on the franchise, without ties to David Gordon Green’s (critically panned) 2023 sequel, “The Exorcist: Believer.”

Flanagan also offered an update on a movie he’s already finished shooting, “Life of Chuck,” which is adapted from a short story by Stephen King.

“However, it is not a horror movie at all,” Flanagan said, reminding the audience that King is also famous for writing dramas like “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Stand By Me.” “It’s more of that Stephen King. […] It’s a beautiful movie. It was really fun for me to do something outside the horror genre. It just made me feel good about being alive.”

“I don’t know when it will be out because we made it completely independently, and we do not have a distributor,” he said about a possible release date. “We’ll likely premiere the movie at a film festival later this year and try to sell it then.”

Flanagan said the cast includes Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Mark Hamill — the last of whom will deliver a monologue, which Flanagan promised is “a doozy.”

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