THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER – Mike Flanagan, who previously tackled Stephen King adaptations ‘Gerald’s Game’ and ‘Doctor Sleep,’ is writing and will direct the feature film.
Scarlett Johansson will star in Mike Flanagan’s “fresh, bold” take on The Exorcist.

Blumhouse and Universal are behind the latest attempt to revive the horror franchise, which follows the companies’ ill-fated effort to launch a franchise with 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer.

Flanagan wrote the script and is directing and producing the new feature that is not a remake nor a sequel but set in the Exorcist “universe,” whatever that entails.

The original Exorcist, based on the novel by William Peter Blatty and directed by William Friedkin, focused on the demonic possession of a young girl and the priests that try to save her. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars. The various follow-ups mostly featured stories centered on the girl (now grown-up), the back stories of the priests or other demonic cases detectives from the first movie investigated.

“The Exorcist is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker, and it is an honor to have the chance to try something fresh, bold and terrifying within its universe,” is how Flanagan described the project when his involvement was announced in May 2024.

At the time, David Robinson, chairman and CEO of Exorcist rights holder Morgan Creek, said, “I think his vision for this franchise is going to stun audiences worldwide.”

Details on the take are being kept strapped to the bed.

Flanagan, who is known for directing Stephen King adaptations such as Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game as well as creating TV shows such as Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House, is producing via his Red Room Pictures banner. David Robinson is producing for Morgan Creek Entertainment while Jason Blum and Ryan Turek serve as producer and executive producer respectively for Blumhouse.

Johansson last starred in Universal’s Jurassic World: Rebirth, which grossed over $868 million worldwide and proved that the studio’s long-standing dino movie series still had the chomps when it came to attracting audiences.