Exorcist Trilogy Canceled, Mike Flanagan Will Direct Franchise Reboot Movie

In 2021, Universal Pictures and Blumhouse announced ambitious plans to bring back The Exorcist franchise with a new sequel trilogy. However, the rocky reception that The Exorcist: Believer received in theaters last year forced the studios to rethink the path forward. Believer co-writer and director David Gordon Green stepped down from the previously revealed sequel, The Exorcist: Deceiver. And that ultimately led Mike Flanagan to enter talks with Universal and Blumhouse about taking over.

Now, Flanagan has officially signed on to write, direct, and produce "a radical new take" on the next Exorcist film. As a result, plans for Deceiver and the other film in the new Exorcist trilogy have been canceled. Flanagan's movie will take place in the same continuity as the previous Exorcist flicks, but it's not a direct sequel to anything.

Horror fans are very familiar with Flanagan's work, including the films Oculus, Before I Wake, Ouija: Origin of Evil, and Doctor Sleep. Flanagan was even more prolific on Netflix, where he created The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and an updated version of The Fall of the House of Usher in addition to directing an adaptation of Stephen King's Gerald's Game. Amazon MGM Studios signed Flanagan to a development deal in 2022, where he was set up to develop a reboot of King's The Dark Tower. It's unclear how the new Exorcist film will affect the timeline of that project.

"The Exorcist is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker, and it is an honor to have the chance to try something fresh, bold, and terrifying within its universe," said Flanagan in a statement. "Reuniting with my friends at Blumhouse, with whom I’ve made some of my favorite pieces of work, only makes this more exciting."

Flanagan's Exorcist movie doesn't have a release date yet.