"Demon child" star of Mike Flanagan's Exorcist movie "doesn't think" he'll ever watch the original as he reveals filming starts in a few weeks

As cameras are set to roll in just a few weeks, the child star of Mike Flanagan's new Exorcist movie Jacobi Jupe says he has no plans to watch the original 1973 film – and we don't blame him.

"Even if I was old enough, I still don't want to see it [because] it's really scary," Jupe, 12, told Deadline on the red carpet for the BAFTAs, confirming that he "doesn't think" he'll ever watch it. "I've seen pictures."

Jupe is part of a stacked cast that includes Diane Lane, Scarlett Johansson, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and confirmed to Deadline that Johansson would indeed be playing the worried mother to his possessed "demon child." We still don't know too much else about the film, other than production is set to begin in just a few weeks in good ol' New York City (as per Jupe).

Flanagan's take on The Exorcist was announced in 2024, with an initial March 2026 release date. The filmmaker took to Tumblr last June to tell fans there was "no way" the film was going to make that release, and a 2027 premiere was announced in January 2026. It's worth noting that Flanagan's pic is not affiliated with The Exorcist: Believer, and that his film will not be titled "The Exorcist: Deceiver" (no matter what the Google AI bot tries to tell you).

Jupe made his feature film debut as Michael Darling in David Lowery's divisive Peter Pan and Wendy, and received critical acclaim as well as several award nominations for his portrayal of Hamnet Shakespeare in Chloe Zhao's Hamnet.

The Exorcist is set to hit theaters on March 27, 2027. For more, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading our way.