David Gordon Green is conjuring up some excellence in a behind-the-scenes shot for The Exorcist: Believer. Hoping to pull audiences into his continuation of the story first brought to us back in 1973 via William Peter Blatty’s Academy Award-winning film, The Exorcist, the image shows a pensive Green leaning over a religious symbol painted onto the floor. Behind him, we see a simple wooden table and chair set up with the director presumably thinking over the next scene.
While it isn’t a big giveaway, this is the first image that we’ve seen when it comes to anything surrounding Green’s next chapter in the story. Rather than do a remake or go off the rails with an unrelated story, the filmmaker decided to pay homage to Blatty’s original award-winning adaptation and continue the groundbreaking tale made famous by Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair. While the first movie focused on the sole possession of Blair’s character, Regan MacNeil, Green’s will double up on the demonic terror with a sinister entity finding a home in two different girls.
In The Exorcist: Believer, Leslie Odom Jr.’s (Hamilton) character will seek out the help of Burstyn’s Chris MacNeil after his daughter has been possessed by a demon. Finding power in numbers and support from others dealing with the same affliction, a mother played by Jennifer Nettles (The Righteous Gemstones) will join the desperate father with the duo teaming up to take on the devil with the expert advice of the MacNeils. The daughters will be played by Lidya Jewett (Good Girls) and Olivia Marcum with an ensemble set to include Ann Dowd (Hereditary), Okwui Okpokwasili (Madeline’s Madeline), and Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time).
Who’s Behind The Exorcist: Believer?
Hot off his uber-successful continuation of John Carpenter’s Halloween, Green will helm this terrifying tale which he’s setting out to turn into another trilogy. It’s truly a collaborative affair as the next chapter in The Exorcist will see Green co-write the film’s screenplay along with Scott Teems and Danny McBride, both of whom he worked with on his Halloween trilogy. After pairing up on the aforementioned Halloween films, Jason Blum is back with Green to produce the titles alongside James Robinson, David Robinson, McBride, and Couper Samuelson.
Check out the behind-the-scenes look at The Exorcist: Believer below and count down the days to horror when the film arrives on screens on October 13.