The Exorcist 2: The Sequel A New Trilogy In The Works With An Unexpected Return!

As reported exclusively by the New York Times, Universal and Peacock have bought the rights to the announced sequel to The Exorcist by Blumhouse with the aim of creating a new trilogy, on a par with what has already happened with the Halloween franchise. The signed agreement amounts to 400 million dollars. As announced some time ago, David Gordon Green, director of Halloween and the highly anticipated Halloween Kills, will be in charge of directing the first chapter of the trilogy, which will be a direct sequel to the cult signed in 1973 by William Friedkin. The first film is expected to hit theaters in late 2023.

The most striking news, which emerged together with the announcement of the agreement, however, concern the cast: it has been confirmed that, forty years after the release of the original film, Ellen Burstyn will return again in the now iconic role of Chris MacNeil, the mother of little Regan MacNeil (the possessed child from Friedkin’s film), a role which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

Alongside Burstyn there will be Leslie Odom Jr., known for the musical Hamilton and nominated for the 2021 Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for That Night in Miami … : the American actor will play the role of the father of a possessed child who, in prey in desperation, he will seek Chris’s help. The script for the first sequel will be signed by David Gordon Green alongside Scott Teems, Danny McBride and Petter Sattler. Jason Blum, David Robinson and James Robinson will be producing. The sequel will be a co-production between Blumhouse and Morgan Creek Production.

The Great Success of The Exorcist

The Exorcist by William Friedkin was nominated for 10 Academy Awards (including Best Picture), winning two statuettes, and also generated two sequels and two prequel / spin-off. After the great critical and public success of the original film, in 1977 the Exorcist II – The Heretic was released, thirteen years later, in 1990, Exorcist III was released, directed by  William Peter Blatty , author of the original novel that inspired Friedkin’s film, who passed away in 2017.

In neither of the two sequels was Friedkin involved and neither of the two films achieved the success of the progenitor; however, in 2004 a prequel was made directed by Lenny Harlin  and dedicated to the events of Father Lankester Merrin, followed in 2005 by another prequel more or less identical to the previous year, directed by  Paul Schrader .

Morgan Creek Entertainment was previously responsible for making The Exorcist III  (1990) and the two prequels  The Exorcist – Genesis  (2004) and  Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005). Some time ago William Friedkin stated through his Twitter profile that he will not be involved in any way in the new sequel.

The new The Exorcist films are produced by Universal Pictures, Morgan Creek Entertainment and Blumhouse Production. The first feature film should be released in theaters in 2023 while it would seem that the two sequels are exclusive to Peacock, an American streaming service and therefore could arrive directly on the small screen.