The exorcist is back. Universal showed the first footage of the acclaimed sequel to the classic film, while filmmaker David Gordon Green and producer Jason Blum also revealed the new title.
The exorcist: believer begins after the devil takes over the bodies of two children.
In the trailer, which has not been released online, a father drops his daughter off at school, but she and a friend go missing after school. When they are found in the woods, they seem changed and unaware that they were gone for three days, believing it was only a few hours. At another point in the caravan, one of the girls – under the communion wine – walks into a church mass and yells at the priest, “The body and the blood!”
Finally, the parents call on Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, reprising her role from the original film). She tries to help the girls, one of whom has her daughter’s name carved on her stomach.
Blumhouse, Universal and Morgan Creek Productions are behind the project, which Universal acquired in a mega $400 million deal to create a trilogy that will be in theaters and later appear on the Peacock streaming service.
Green, which renewed Halloween with a recent trilogy, directs. He has said he planned to put the horror behind him for a while, but eventually said yes to this opportunity. As he told before The Hollywood Reporter: “Technically, it’s an extremely different movie than Halloween. I think it’s in the subgenre of horror, but dramatic I approach it very academically.”
The stars of the new feature include Leslie Odom Jr. and Ann Dowd.
The original exorcist became a big hit in 1973 and was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture. The William Friedkin-directed film revolves around a 12-year-old girl who is possessed by a mysterious entity. It explored the efforts of her mother and two Catholic priests to rescue her.
The new exorcist arrives in theaters October 13.
