David Gordon Green offers a promising update on The Exorcist reboot. After seven Halloween sequels and a reboot by Rob Zombie, Green came along and revived the long-running slasher franchise to rave reviews with 2018's Halloween, which acted as a direct sequel to John Carpenter's original film from 1978. The director returned for last year's sequel, Halloween Kills, and the upcoming threequel, Halloween Ends, which is expected to conclude the saga of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers.
Halloween Ends releases simultaneously in theaters and Peacock on October 14, and Green already has another horror reboot trilogy in the works, The Exorcist. Universal paid a reported $400 million for the trilogy, which will be produced by Blumhouse and see Ellen Burstyn reprise her role from the original 1973 film as Chris MacNeil, the mother who hires a pair of Catholic priests to conduct an exorcism on her demonically-possessed daughter. Hamilton's Leslie Odom Jr. and The Handmaid's Tale's Ann Dowd also star, with the demon character Pazuzu factoring into the plot as well.
Now, during an interview with Variety at the Halloween Ends premiere, Green provides a promising update for The Exorcist reboot. The director reveals when filming is set to begin and praises the cast and script. Read what Green says below:
We start in a couple of weeks, and we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and dive into the next great franchise. We’ve got an amazing cast coming together and scripts we’re all excited about.
Considering the many parallels between the two, The Exorcist reboot should be able to match Halloween's success. For starters, The Exorcist is already a planned trilogy, ensuring there will be plenty of time to tell the story that Green's Halloween trilogy co-writer, Danny McBride, also had a hand in plotting. Just like 2018's Halloween, Green's Exorcist will serve as a direct sequel to the franchise's original film from 1978 while retconning all previous sequels, including the much-maligned Exorcist II: The Heretic.
Green's Halloween saw the return of the franchise's original star, Curtis, as will The Exorcist reboot in Burstyn.
The Exorcist reboot should have no problem matching Halloween's success, though it won't want to repeat history entirely. While 2018's Halloween was met with rave reviews, its sequel Halloween Kills saw a sharp critical decline. With Halloween Ends releasing soon, it will be interesting to if Green can remedy the backlash to the last film, or succumb once again to the same pitfalls. With his The Exorcist reboot trilogy, Green will surely want to avoid the sophomore slump. Perhaps he's learned from his Halloween experiences and can forge a perfect reboot for the horror classic.