According to a Deadline exclusive, horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan has added Rahul Kohli, Hamish Linklater, Gil Bellows, Carl Lumbly, Robert Longstreet, Matt Biedel, Samantha Sloyan, Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr., Benjamin Pajak, and Carla Gugino as cast members to his upcoming adaptation of William Blatty’s horror novel The Exorcist.
These names are no strangers to Flanagan’s filmography, such as the Netflix show Midnight Mass and The Fall of the House of Usher. Names from the list are also credited on the feature works Oculus, Hush and Gerald’s Game, to name a few.
These 11 new members will join Scarlett Johansson, Jacobi Jupe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Laurence Fishburne, John Leguizamo, Sasha Calle, and Diane Lane in the fresh take on the Exorcist universe, which all began in 1973 when directing legend William Friedkin took on author Blatty’s original 1971 supernatural book, The Exorcist, for a big screen re-telling.
The original film starred Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller and the young Linda Blair in a chilling story of a young girl called Reagan (Blair) who becomes possessed by a merciless demon. Her desperate mother (Burstyn) begs the church to help, and two priests (von Sydow and Miller) set aside any personal troubles to save the child’s soul.
Friedkin’s work overcame initial audience and religious institutions controversy to become one of horror’s greatest, and was followed by two sequels, released in 1977 and 1990.
Director David Gordon Green, known for his revamp of the Halloween series (2018-2022), attempted his own Exorcist universe trilogy starting with 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer. However, commercial and critical failure caused the planned trilogy to be scrapped, and Flanagan was hired to save the iconic horror franchise with a reboot, as first reported in May 2024.
The director is also working on new adaptations of two Stephen King works: The Mist, based on the 1980 novella of the same name and previously adapted by Frank Darabont in 2007 and then again by Christian Torpe as a TV show in 2017. Additionally, Flanagan is working on a miniseries of Carrie as adapted from the 1973 book of the same title, which was first adapted by Brian De Palma in 1976.
Universal‘s The Exorcist is set for a 12th March 2027 cinematic release.
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