Original The Exorcist Director Debunks Rumors About Involvement in New Film

Earlier this year came word that a new version of The Exorcist is in development following a report that studio Morgan Creek is developing a reboot of the 1973 classic film. Details about the project weren't made official beyond news that it would be a "theatrical reboot" and it was on their slate of projects. If you went browsing on IMDB however you might see some credits that would lead you to make some assumptions, perhaps including that original director William Friedkin is involved in some capacity. The 85-year-old Oscar winner remains active on social media and saw the same IMDB listings you may have, and he's here to set the record straight.

"There's a rumor on IMDB that I'm involved with a new version Of The Exorcist," Friedkin tweeted. "This isn't a rumor, it's a flat-out lie. There's not enough money or motivation in the world To get me to do this."

There’s a rumor on IMDB that I’m involved with a new version
Of The Exorcist. This isn’t a rumor, it’s a flat-out lie.
There’s not enough money or motivation in the world
To get me to do this.

— William Friedkin (@WilliamFriedkin) December 17, 2020

Based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, the original film earned four follow-up movies, the most recent of which hit theaters back in 2005, while FOX delivered a TV series adaptation of the source material that lasted for two seasons.

The original story focuses on a girl who begins to exhibit bizarre behavior that traditional science fails to explain. A local priest intervenes and conducts an exorcism in hopes of ridding the girl's body of a nefarious being. The film ends with the priest becoming possessed by the demon before launching himself out of the girl's bedroom window and onto the stairs below, killing himself and preventing the demon from inhabiting anyone else.

Friedkin opened up about his memories of working on The Exorcist and revisiting it now in an interview with Rolling Stone two years ago, saying: "Some of the scenes are amazingly well done. The fact that we had no digital in it. We had to achieve all of that. But what still holds me are the performances...I'm sure a lot of people are skeptical about the real thing when it comes to exorcism, but the movie scared the hell out of them."

Following its release The Exorcist was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning two including Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay.