Posted in: Horror, Movies | Tagged: Life Of Chuck, Mike Flanagan, The Exorcist

The Exorcist: Mike Flanagan Teases "Something New" For Franchise

Mike Flanagan is teasing plans for his new Exorcist film while promoting his new film The Life Of Chuck. His Exorcist film releases in 2026.

The Exorcist was doomed. After years of failing sequels to the iconic original film, it was all supposed to change when Universal and Blumhouse got the rights and handed the keys to David Gordon Green, coming off directing three wildly successful Halloween films. A trilogy was planned. The Exorcist: Believer was released in theaters in 2022, and…nobody was impressed. It was not a bad film, but it was far from the promised hit, or the creative wellspring Blumhouse and Universal wanted it to be. Green walked away, and it seemed like the franchise was dead. Then, out of nowhere, modern horror master Mike Flanagan was brought in to make the next chapter, and horror fans rejoiced. Flanagan's horror resume has no holes, and he is one of the genre's best. That he wanted the job made us excited. In a new interview with THR, Flanagan teased what he wants to do to bring The Exorcist back to prominence.

The Exorcist Is Only Interesting Again Because Of Him

"We aren't making this easy on ourselves. (Laughs.) But I've always felt that there's no point in going into a franchise or into a property that monolithic unless there's something new you can bring. I chased The Exorcist very aggressively because I was convinced I had something that I could add. This is an opportunity to do something that I believe has never been done within the franchise — something that honors what came before it but isn't built on nostalgia. I really just saw an opportunity to make the scariest movie I've ever made. I know expectations are high. No one's more intimidated than I am."

That he went after this job so aggressively should give fans massive amounts of hope. I just started a re-watch of his whole horror catalog, and seeing the way he has grown in confidence as a filmmaker so quickly from project to project is incredible. From Hush and Gerald's Game to the criminally underrated Doctor Sleep and masterclass that is Midnight Mass, this is someone whose films and shows should be at the tippy top of every horror fan's must-see list. The Exorcist is exciting again because of his name alone.

It cannot come soon enough. His next film, a Stephen King adaptation that is NOT a horror film, Life of Chuck, debuts at the Toronto Film Festival today.

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