The Exorcist revival from Blumhouse and Universal is now a trilogy

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Ellen Burstyn is reprising her starring role as Chris MacNeil from the original horror classic

The Exorcist
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Blumhouse and Universal's revival of The Exorcist, which we learned about late last year, has now been announced as a trilogy. 

The companies have also revealed that, for the first time, Ellen Burstyn will be reprising her starring role as Chris MacNeil from the original 1973 horror classic. Furthermore, Leslie Odom Jr. has been cast to star in the upcoming Exorcist trilogy in an unnamed role.

Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills (2021) director David Gordon Green is still directing the first movie in the trilogy, but it's unclear as of now whether he'll return to direct the sequels. Regardless, the first film in the series is scheduled to hit theaters on October 13, 2023. The story was conceived by Scott Teems (Halloween Kills, The Quarry), Danny McBride (Halloween Kills, Halloween), and Green, while Green, and Peter Sattler (Broken Diamonds) are penning the script.

In its pursuit of another successful horror revival, Blumhouse is closely following the recipe it established with Halloween and is continuing with Halloween Kills. There are a few glaring parallels: it's enlisting the same director, it's bringing back the lead actor from the original movie similar to Jamie Lee Curtis's reprisal of Laurie Strode, and there's already more than one movie planned. The studio isn't shy about its tactics either; Jason Blum himself recently made the comparison between The Exorcist and Halloween revivals.

"The Exorcist has been written. That was one of my pandemic projects. It’s not inaccurate [that it will be a sequel to the original film]. I like all the Exorcist movies," Green told Total Film. 

"And not only do I like them, I think they can all fall into the acceptable mythology for what I’m doing. It’s not like I’m saying, 'Pretend that The Exorcist 2 never happened.' That’s fine to exist. They’re all fine to exist, and I enjoy all of them."There's no telling where The Exorcist revival will take the series' story, but Burstyn's casting as Chris MacNeil suggests it'll take place in modern times like the Halloween revival. David Robinson, president of rights holder Morgan Creek, said in a press release that it'll be a "compelling continuation of this iconic tale."

Find out where the original Exorcist ranked on our list of the best horror movies of all time, and be sure to watch any entries you might've missed. Or read up on 7 questions I STILL have after watching The Exorcist if you have thoughts about the ending. 

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.