The Exorcist: Jason Blum Hopes Reboot Will Replicate Halloween’s Success

With the upcoming Halloween Ends, Blumhouse Productions’ work on the rebooted slasher series will come to its bloody conclusion. Once it’s completed however, they’ll be moving on to another attempted reboot of a horror franchise, bringing a series of new The Exorcist movies to life. David Gordon Green, the director of 2018’s Halloween and its sequels, will return to helm the new reboot/legacyquel of the William Friedkin classic, with hopes of making it the first in a new trilogy. Speaking in a new interview, producer Jason Blum shared his hopes for the film, including that it will have Halloween-level success.

“We are getting ready to make it,” Blum told Variety. “Hopefully, we will do the same thing with ‘The Exorcist’ that we did with ‘Halloween’ – make it in a way that’s fresh and worth revisiting. And feels different enough so that people are happy we did it. (David Gordon Green) is very good at respecting intellectual property that already exists and putting a new spin on it.”

In the same way that Halloween (2018) brought back Jamie Lee Curtis to the franchise, the new Exorcist movie will see Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn return to reprise her role of Chris MacNeil. Burstyn already confirmed that she has already filmed her scenes for the film. Considering her age, Burstyn will be 90 years old in December, it’s possible that they wanted to make sure the scenes with her character were in the can in the event of a potential tragedy. 

Actor Leslie Odem Jr. (Hamilton, One Night in Miami) is also set to star in the film, playing the father of a possessed child, who turns to Chris MacNeil for help, as MacNeil’s daughter Regan (Linda Blair) had to fight off a demonic presence in the original film. Blair herself has previously confirmed she’s not involved in the new movie.

Morgan Creek Entertainment (right holders of The Exorcist franchise) will team with Blumhouse Productions for the trio of films which were picked up by Universal and Peacock in a huge deal.

“That one is a lot of research, rather than just impulsive screenwriting,” Green previously told Total Film about The Exorcist script. “That’s one that you talk to a lot of people. You read a lot of books, and do a sh-tload of interviews. There was such a dramatic authenticity to what that original film is. It’s a lot more than I anticipated getting into it. And I guess I was naive to think that. But it was very exhilarating to be involved in a lot of those conversations that you find yourself in.”

The Exorcist franchise will return with a new movie on October 13th, 2023.