Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions’ first trailer for The Exorcist: Believer is the stuff of nightmares. 1973’s The Exorcist stands as the scariest horror film in history, and the trailer appears to confirm Believer is a worthy addition to the franchise. Ellen Burstyn reprising her role as Chris – and the inclusion of “Tubular Bells” – signals a legitimate return to the world William Peter Blatty created in his 1971 bestselling novel.
In addition to Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn, The Exorcist: Believer stars Tony winner and Oscar nominee Leslie Odom, Jr., Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum, Emmy winner Ann Dowd, Grammy winner Jennifer Nettles, and two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz.
The Exorcist, with an $11 million budget, grossed $441 million during its theatrical run. Directed by William Friedkin, the R-rated horror film earned 10 Oscar nominations and won two – Best Adapted Screenplay and Sound. Exorcist II: The Heretic followed in 1977 with Linda Blair reprising her role as Regan MacNeil. The sequel was less enthusiastically received and only grossed $30 million during its run.
The Exorcist III arrived in 1990 and Exorcist: The Beginning (a prequel) was released in August 2004. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist was the most recent theatrical release, generating a measly $250,000 in limited domestic release.
The Exorcist was revived in 2016 as a television series on Fox. The series, starring Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels, was well-received by critics, however, Fox canceled it after just two seasons. (It’s one of the best network horror series and deserved a longer run.)
The Exorcist: Believer will open in theaters on October 13, 2023 (Friday the 13th). The Exorcist: Deceiver, the second chapter in Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions’ planned trilogy, will launch in theaters on April 18, 2025.
(UPDATE: Universal Pictures has moved The Exorcist: Believer from October 13, 2023 to Friday, October 6th.)
David Gordon Green directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Sattler, from a story by Green, Scott Teems, and Danny McBride (based on characters created by William Peter Blatty). Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Morgan Creek Entertainment’s David Robinson and James G. Robinson produced. Green, McBride, Stephanie Allain, Ryan Turek, and Atilla Yücer executive produced.
The Official Synopsis:
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, 2023, 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 (Odom, Jr) has raised their daughter, Angela (Jewett) on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine (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 as Victor and Angela’s neighbor, and Grammy winner Jennifer Nettles and two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz as the parents of Katherine, Angela’s friend.
