The Exorcist: Believer Producer Addresses Status of Deceiver

David Gordon Green's The Exorcist: Believer didn't reach the financial or critical success his 2018 Halloween earned, which has caused some delays with the planned follow-up film The Exorcist: Deceiver, with producer Jason Blum expressing his confidence that the sequel will move forward eventually. The film was originally slated to hit theaters in April of 2025 and, while it lost that release date, it could still arrive next year, depending on whether Blum finds a new filmmaker to helm the project. Green previously shared that he was considering sitting out Deceiver, with that news being officially confirmed this past January.

"We are definitely going to make another Exorcist movie, but I wanted more time to figure out what it would be. I have no idea what it's going to be yet," Blum shared with The Direct.

Green's first Halloween film was a massive critical and financial success, reviving the Michael Myers franchise after having been dormant for nearly a decade. Green's success with the franchise allowed him to develop the sequels Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, which hit theaters in 2021 and 2022, respectively. When it was announced that Green would take a similar approach to reviving The Exorcist, by making Believer a direct sequel to the first movie that ignored all of its sequels, many fans had high expectations for the project, especially as news emerged that Believer would similarly kick off a trilogy.

The Exorcist: Believer sits at 22% positive reviews, compared to Halloween's 79% positive, while Believer took in $136.3 million worldwide compared to Halloween's $260 million. It's worth noting, however, that Green had previously expressed that he approached the Halloween franchise quite differently, as he had a long-term plan to revive Halloween, while his connection to The Exorcist was mainly out of his passion for the original film and his relationship with Blumhouse allowing him to enter the series.

"I wasn't particularly looking to continue in horror," Green previously expressed to IGN. "I'd said a lot in three films and was contemplating what comes next – but [The Exorcist] was too amazing of an opportunity to pass up ... We could exercise new muscles, try something different, and utilize our drama tools in horror environments."  

Stay tuned for updates on the future of The Exorcist.

What do you think of Blum's remarks? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!