The Exorcist: Believer director on the "magical experience" of working with Ellen Burstyn

The Exorcist: Believer goes where no Exorcist follow-up has gone before: it brings back the character of Chris MacNeil, played by Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn. Director David Gordon Green is no stranger to bringing stars back to their respective franchises, having convinced Jamie Lee Curtis to sign back on to Halloween for the franchise’s final three films. After 50 years of little to no involvement with The Exorcist and its many, many sequels – Green brought Burstyn back for a story that puts her back at the forefront.

"I have magical powers," Green jokes to GamesRadar+. "It's something that we really realized the value of – bringing an authority to a franchise that you're bringing back into a contemporary moment in cinema. Ellen is an actress that I've always loved and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is one of my favorite movies of all time. And so the idea was that this would give me an excuse to just call her, check in, and introduce myself. She invited me over for tea and we looked out at the park and we fed the pigeons and it was a beautiful connection."

The newest installment sees the return of the demon from William Friedkin’s original film, who possesses not one, but two young girls, best friends Angela (Lidya Jewett) and Katherine (Olivia O'Neill). This time around, they encounter the demon after disappearing into the woods for several days. At the urging of his friend and neighbor Ann (Ann Dowd), Angela's father Victor (Leslie Odom Jr.) decides to enlist the help of the only other parent he knows who has experienced demonic possession: our girl Chris MacNeil.

The Exorcist: Believer (2023) — (Image credit: Universal)

"I pitched her the story and she was very skeptical at first, but over time, as she saw my intentions and we looked at each other and thought, 'There's something here that we can explore, something that we can collaborate on.'"

We don’t blame Burstyn for hesitation: The Exorcist, wildly controversial at the time in both its subject matter and filming methods, left her with both a permanent spinal injury and negative media attention (though the film was nominated for 10 Oscars). The actor recently told Interview Magazine that she does indeed treasure The Exorcist, noting that "it’s the only film I’ve made in my 70 years in the film business that’s in the Library of Congress" and that she has a lot of respect for Green.

"We were able to get it there and it was a magical experience," Green continues to GR+. "I've got a that I use time and time again on the film, a very loyal collective of collaborators that I work with. And we're all goofy and have a good time making movies. The idea that you can invite someone like her with her pedigree onto our set ... [There's] reverence, everyone just gets silent and supportive and then we realize that she's here to play alongside us and she fit right into the team."

It was reported back in 2021, that Universal had purchased the rights to the franchise with three new films in the works. The Exorcist: Deceiver comes out in 2024, with Burstyn confirming that she will be back once more.

The Exorcist: Believer is out in theaters now. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2023 and beyond, or, skip right to the good stuff with our list of movie release dates.

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.