Credit: Universal StudiosA brand-new horror reboot set for release this Halloween has shared a first look. From David Gordon Green, the director of the recent Halloween trilogy, The Exorcist: Believer (2023), will serve as a direct sequel to the original 1973 classic that terrified an entire generation of cinemagoers.
The film’s official Twitter account has shared four pictures, seemingly from the depths of hell itself. The black-and-white images depict a young girl who, like Linda Blair in the original film, appears to be possessed by an evil spirit, with emphasis on a crucifix — one of the ultimate weapons against such demonic forces in the movie.
Check them out below:
“This October. #TheExorcistBeliever”
This October. #TheExorcistBeliever pic.twitter.com/ezGlD7kjbZ
— The Exorcist: Believer (@TheExorcistBlvr) July 20, 2023
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The Exorcist: Believer shares a huge connection with the Halloween franchise. Not only is Green directing, The Exorcist: Believer will be a direct sequel to the original 1973 film, just like Green’s three films, Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022) are direct sequels to John Carpenter’s 1978 Halloween film.
However, unlike the Halloween sequels that precede his trilogy of films, Green has confirmed that the Exorcist sequels, Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Exorcist III (1990), Exorcist: The Beginning (2004), and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005), remain canon.
The Exorcist: Believer is also the first film in a trilogy from Green and Blumhouse Productions.
“I like all the Exorcist movies,” Green said in an interview with Games Radar in 2021. “And not only do I like them, I think they can all fall into the acceptable mythology for what I’m doing. It’s not like I’m saying, ‘Pretend that Exorcist II never happened.’ That’s fine to exist. They’re all fine to exist, and I enjoy all of them.”
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As per Universal Pictures, here’s the official synopsis for The Exorcist: Believer:
Exactly 50 years ago this fall, the most terrifying horror film in history landed on screens, shocking audiences around the world. Now, on Friday, October 13, a new chapter begins. From Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green, who shattered the status quo with their resurrection of the Halloween franchise, comes The Exorcist: Believer.
Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Tony winner and Oscar® nominee Leslie Odom, Jr.; One Night in Miami, Hamilton) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett, Good Girls) on his own.
But when Angela and her friend Katherine (newcomer Olivia Marcum), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil.
For the first time since the 1973 film, Oscar® winner Ellen Burstyn reprises her iconic role as Chris MacNeil, an actress who has been forever altered by what happened to her daughter Regan five decades before.
The film also stars Emmy winner Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale, Hereditary) as Victor and Angela’s neighbor, and Grammy winner Jennifer Nettles (Harriet, The Righteous Gemstones) and two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz (Fosse/Verdon, Bloodline) as the parents of Katherine, Angela’s friend.
When The Exorcist, based on the best-selling book by William Peter Blatty, was released, it changed the culture forever, obliterating box office records and earning 10 Academy Award® nominations, becoming the first horror film ever nominated for Best Picture.
The Exorcist: Believer is directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay by Peter Sattler (Camp X-Ray) and David Gordon Green, from a story by Scott Teems (Halloween Kills), Danny McBride (Halloween trilogy) and David Gordon Green, based on characters created by William Peter Blatty.
The film is produced by Jason Blum for Blumhouse and by David Robinson (All Eyez on Me, 2016 series The Exorcist) and James G. Robinson (All Eyez on Me, 2016 series The Exorcist) for Morgan Creek Entertainment.
The executive producers are Danny McBride, David Gordon Green, Ryan Turek and Christopher H. Warner. Universal Pictures presents a Blumhouse/Morgan Creek Entertainment production in association with Rough House Pictures.
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The Exorcist: Believer releases in theaters on October 13, making it the most highly anticipated Halloween films of the year.
In the meantime, check out the official website for more information.
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