In news that's sure to leave horror fans' heads spinning, The New York Times has announced that a sequel trilogy to The Exorcist is in the works at Universal/Blumhouse.
It was previously reported that Halloween (2018) director David Gordon Green was set to helm a direct sequel to William Friedkin's 1973 classic, but it's now come to light that three movies are actually being developed. Ellen Burstyn is set to reprise the role of Chris MacNeil, and she'll be joined by Hamilton breakout star Leslie Odom Jr. as a desperate father to turns to MacNeil for help when his daughter is possessed.
There's no word on a possible return for Linda Blair as Regan.
Universal and Peacock reportedly acquired the rights as part of a deal said to be worth more than $400 million. The first movie is expected to hit theaters in 2023, but there's a chance the sequels will wind up premiering on the streaming service. Jason Blum will produce alongside Morgan Creek's David and James Robinson.
Widely considered one of the scariest movies ever made, The Exorcist focused on a possessed young girl (Blair) and her mother's (Burstyn) attempts to free her from the grip of the demon with the help of two priests (Jason Miller and Max Von Sydow).
Of course, the movie already has two sequels. The first, John Boorman's surreal The Heretic, was critically panned and actually had very little to do with the events of the first film. However, William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist III (based on his novel Legion) was a lot better, and served as a more direct follow-up to the 1973 classic.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.