Earlier this Wednesday, filmmaker Mike Flanagan revealed through social media that production on his The Exorcist film has been completed. Taking to Instagram, Flanagan shared an image featuring a cross and wrote, "That's a wrap. What an incredible experience. Forever grateful to this extraordinary cast and crew!" The film is yet to have an official title, although reports suggest that it is called The Exorcist: Martyrs.
The Exorcist adaptation stars Scarlett Johansson in the lead role. The film reunites Flanagan with Rahul Kohli, Hamish Linklater, Carla Gugino, Carl Lumbly, Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Gallagher Jr, and Kate Siegel. It also stars Diane Lane, Sasha Calle, Jacobi Jupe of Hamnet fame), John Leguizamo, and Laurence Fishburne, among others.
The Exorcist film marks Johansson's first true-blue horror film; her previous credits include Under the Skin, a sci-fi film with horror elements and the horror-comedy Eight Legged Freaks. It brings Mike Flanagan back to the horror genre after a break departure into the fantasy space, with 2024's The Life of Chuck.
For the unversed, Flanagan is known for series such as The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Fall of the House of Usher, and Midnight Mass, as well as the films Oculus, Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil, and Gerald's Game.
The film is produced by Blumhouse Productions, which backed 2023's The Exorcist: Believer too. However, reportedly, it does not have any connection with the 2023 film. The makers are yet to reveal plot specifics of the upcoming Scarlett Johansson starrer. In a 2024 conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Flanagan revealed that he would like to do something unprecedented in the franchise with the upcoming film.
While William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973) follows a girl under the spell of a malevolent spirit, reports indicate that Flanagan's version follows a detective (Johansson) who is entangled in a complex case that involves a so-called 'inconceivable evil'. Mike Flanagan's upcoming projects also include a series adaptation of Carrie.