Interesting news, Flana-stans – following the news that David Gordon Green will no longer direct the next two entries into Blumhouse and Universal’s plannedย The Exorcist reboot trilogy, it seems Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Hill House, The Fall of the House of Usher, the upcoming The Life of Chuck) is in talks to take up the directorial mantle.
Deadline, who reported the news last night, say their sources have confirmed this but that Universal and Blumhouse have declined to comment.
Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer, which was released on October 13, 2023, was intended to be the first in a series of three films expanding the story started in William Friedkin’s 1973 classicย The Exorcist, withย The Exorcist: Deceiver originally scheduled for April 18, 2025. After The Exorcist: Believer was poorly critically received and grossed below its projected box office, Gordon Green exited the project, leaving Blumhouse on the hunt for a new director.
Starring Leslie Odom Jr. Lidya Jewett, Ann Dowd and Olivia Marcum, Believer followed a “photographer who must confront the nadir of evil when his daughter and her best friend are possessed.” Returning from the originalย The Exorcist were Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair as Chris and Regan MacNeil respectively.
Whether or not Flanagan (if confirmed) will continue the story built byย Believer remains to be seen, as does whether he will bring any of his usual collaborators (like Kate Siegel, Carla Gugino or Rahul Kohli) onboard.
Whatever happens, as bona fide Flanafans here at FANGORIA, you can bet we’re watching this story develop with great interest, and will bring you any updates as soon as they come through.
