First footage of The Exorcist sequel terrifies CinemaCon

The first footage from the new Exorcist film has screened behind closed doors at CinemaCon – and it sounds pretty damn spine-chilling. 

Director David Gordon Green and producer Jason Blum took to the stage to share the new trailer, also revealing that the title of the film is The Exorcist: Believer. 

Per Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the trailer sees two schoolgirls (Lidya Jewett and Olivia Marcum) go missing for days in the woods. Strangely enough, they had no idea they'd been missing for three entire days, instead thinking they'd been gone for a few hours. The girls start to act very strangely, with Ann Dowd playing a concerned nurse. 

The girls have clearly been possessed. In one moment, Marcum crashes a church service to scream "the body and the blood!" at the priest, in a loud, demonic voice, while soaked in communion wine. Ultimately, Chris MacNeil is called on to help the possessed girls. She's once again played by Ellen Burstyn, back from the original movie. 

"It struck something primal in audiences around the world, its depiction of innocence corrupted by something evil," Green said onstage before the footage debuted. 

CinemaCon has also seen the first trailer for Aquaman 2, the entirety of The Flash – which drew rave reactions – and new footage from Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. 

The Exorcist: Believer is due out later in 2023, with a cast that also includes Hamilton's Leslie Odom Jr. It's planned as the first movie of three.

While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming major movie release dates for everything else the year has in store.