Jamie Lee Curtis is, without a doubt, horror royalty. From being the daughter of original scream queen Janet Leigh, to starring in horror classics like Halloween, Prom Night, and even the Fox parody Scream Queens, she’s covered it all, and stands out as one of the most eminent horror actresses alive, continuing her streak as iconic final girl Laurie Strode in this year’s Halloween Kills. But there’s one horror franchise she hasn’t yet tackled that she’d love to be a part of: The Exorcist.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the actress revealed that the original 1973 film starring Linda Blair terrified her, and that despite being a horror icon, she “loathe[s] being scared by scary movies.” But now that her Halloween collaborator, director David Gordon Green, has signed on to create a new trilogy of Exorcist films, she’d be more than happy to contribute her voice to the reimagining, set to feature Leslie Odom Jr. and original star Ellen Burstyn. In fact, she has a particularly vicious role in mind—that of the demon that possesses young Regan:
“Maybe I should be the voice of the devil like Mercedes McCambridge. You see, if David gives me a part in the new Exorcist trilogy as the voice of the devil, then it is a full-circle return for me, in a meta way. That would blow people's minds."
Academy Award winner Mercedes McCambridge provided the voice of the demon Pazuzu for William Friedkin’s original film, after the director’s initial plan to electronically alter young Blair’s own voice for the role fell through. Initially, McCambridge was not credited for her role as the evil spirit, despite her recognition by the Academy and extensive experience in voice acting. Credit was eventually provided for her work after arbitration from the Screen Actors Guild, winning her recognition for one of the most iconic monsters in horror film history.
Curtis, best known for her portrayal of final girls, the young female victims who just manage to escape horror’s iconic slashers, would certainly be an interesting choice for the role of Pazuzu, the evil spirit manipulating the body of a young, innocent girl. But with her version of Laurie Strode taking on a more intense turn in Green’s Halloween trilogy—determined not to run from her tormentor, but to kill him—hearing her as the voice of a demon might not be that much of a stretch.