The Exorcist: Believer Director David Gordon Green Exits 2025 Sequel

The Exorcist: Believer was released in theaters last year, and the legacy sequel was helmed by Halloween (2018) director, David Gordon Green. The movie wasn't the success the filmmakers had hoped for. NBCUniversal paid $400 million for the rights to The Exorcist, but the new movie only earned $136,239,836 worldwide. The film also ended up with a "Rotten" critics score of 22% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience score only reached 59%. ComicBook.com's Kofi Outlaw gave the reboot a 2 out of 5, and called it "an odd and misguided attempt at a direct sequel" that "fails to provide any new soul to the franchise." Despite the movie's poor reception, a sequel titled The Exorcist: Deceiver was still announced for 2025. However, it's been confirmed that Green will not be returning to direct, and the horror film has been pushed back. 

The Hollywood Reporter revealed today that the next Exorcist film has been taken off of Universal's release schedule for now. The movie was originally scheduled to be released on April 18, 2025. The franchise's next installment is still expected to continue as Universal and Blumhouse are searching for a new director.

As for Green, it's being reported that the director is turning his focus on his production of Nutcrackers starring Ben Stiller, and the fourth season of HBO's The Righteous Gemstones.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter (via Bloody Disgusting) back in October, Green cast doubt on his return to The Exorcist. 

"My intention is just to start making things, and as those plans come together, if I find myself in that [The Exorcist: Deceiver] director's chair, I'd be thrilled," Green said. "But right now, I'm navigating it from a story perspective and looking at my realities of life as I pivot."

"And one of the things that's been really great between these horror franchises is doing that comedy series on HBO, The Righteous Gemstones," he added. "So, it's fun to be able to step away, take a deep breath, have a big laugh, and then get back to work in the genre."

What Is The Exorcist: Believer About? 

You can read the official synopsis for The Exorcist: Believer here: "Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Tony winner and Oscar® nominee Leslie Odom, Jr.; One Night in Miami, Hamilton) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett, Good Girls) on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine (newcomer Olivia Marcum), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil." 

The film "also stars Emmy winner Ann Dowd (The Handmaid's Tale, Hereditary) as Victor and Angela's neighbor, and Grammy winner Jennifer Nettles (Harriet, The Righteous Gemstones) and two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz (Fosse/Verdon, Bloodline) as the parents of Katherine." 

Are you surprised David Gordon Green is departing from The Exorcist: Deceiver? Are there any other directors you'd like to see join the franchise? Tell us in the comments!