Down-on-their-luck horror franchises have been going back to the drawing board in recent years. After a string of misses, the Predator series was in need of a serious boost, so it handed the reins to Dan Trachtenberg, who had yet to miss when he started developing Prey, having directed 10 Cloverfield Lane and the first episode of Prime Video’s The Boys. Alien didn’t want to fall behind, bringing Don’t Breathe director Fede Álvarez and the architect of the Fargo TV series, Noah Hawley, into the fold to take the franchise to new heights. Extraterrestrial threats don’t need to have all the fun, though.
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Blumhouse and NBCUniversal are working hard to make The Exorcist franchise relevant again. Of course, William Friedkin’s original film is the gold standard of the genre, a technical marvel that effortlessly blends themes. Once the 1973 movie is off the watchlist, though, there’s not much to write home about, especially in the 21st Century. Horror icon Mike Flanagan, the mastermind behind hits like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, will look to change the narrative around the franchise, but he has his work cut out for him.
The Exorcist Is Coming Off a Major Stinker
Flanagan isn’t the first dart that NBCUniversal and Co. have thrown at the board. In 2023, David Gordon Green, the director of all three films in Blumhouse’s Halloween trilogy, tried to right the ship by directing a direct sequel to The Exorcist called The Exorcist: Believer. Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair reprised their roles from the first film, which was a good sign, since their characters hadn’t been around for decades. However, not even returning the franchise to its roots made a difference, as critics and fans alike tore the movie apart for being unoriginal and not scary enough.
Despite Believer bombing at the box office and the world pointing out all of its flaws, the powers that be initially wanted to develop a sequel, with Flanagan at the helm. That idea didn’t last long, as it was reported that Flanagan would direct the next installment in the franchise, but it would be an entirely new vision. And the good news didn’t stop there because the studio decided to go big-game hunting and land a major star for its reboot. Unfortunately, not even teaming up two Hollywood heavyweights is enough to guarantee a win for the next The Exorcist movie.
The Exorcist Franchise Might Be a One-Hit Wonder – And That’s Okay
Now that Scarlett Johansson can see the Marvel Cinematic Universe in her rearview, she’s looking for another franchise to dominate. Jurassic World Rebirth allowed her to continue to show off her action chops, but she’s a two-time Oscar nominee for a reason. Starring in Flanagan’s The Exorcist movie will open the door for her to try something new and react to a supernatural force that surely isn’t looking to make friends with whoever it possesses. The situation isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though, as Johansson is jumping on a ship that hasn’t stayed afloat in over 50 years.
There’s no doubt that Flanagan is cooking up a story that will take the franchise to new places, ones Friedkin couldn’t even have dreamed of due to the technical limitations of his time. But just because someone can do something doesn’t mean they should. The world screams from the rooftops every chance that it gets that it’s not interested in the lessons that The Exorcist movies are offering, and maybe the higher-ups should start listening. They can always greenlight something original from Flanagan that doesn’t come with enough baggage to fill a church.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm -
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros
