David Gordon Green to Direct Exorcist Sequel For Blumhouse

David Gordon Green and Blumhouse are set to try giving The Exorcist the same treatment they gave Halloween, with a sequel in the works. The Observer reports, and THR confirms, that Green (Halloween, Halloween Kills) is developing a sequel to the 1973 horror classic with Blumhouse and Morgan Creek Productions.

The original film starred Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, and Jason Miller. The first horror film to earn a Best Picture Oscar nomination, it was based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel and centered on the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl named Reagan, which brings in two Roman Catholic priest to conduct an exorcism on her. The film has become a pop culture touchstone and remains one of the most acclaimed horror films of all-time. William Friedkin directed the film from a script adapted by Blatty from his own book.

Plot details are not yet known, nor whether it will draw inspiration from Legion, Blatty’s sequel novel. Given as the reports call it a sequel to the original film, it can be assumed (though is not confirmed) that it would ignore the events of the previous Exorcist sequels. The Exorcist II: The Heretic came out in 1977 and was lambasted by critics, often sitting on modern lists of the worst films ever made. It was a financial disappointment, but that didn’t stop the more well-received The Exorcist III from being made and released in 1990. An early 2000s prequel saw massive issues during filming and director Paul Schrader’s original version was thrown out in favor of a new version made by Renny Harlin. Exorcist: The Beginning was another massive failure on a critical level as well as commercially, and Fox eventually released Schrader’s version, retitled Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, in 2005 to little attention.