Fifty years after William Friedkin’s landmark horror film “The Exorcist” terrorized audiences, a new installment has arrived. Ellen Burstyn returns as Chris MacNeil for “The Exorcist: Believer,” a follow-up helmed by David Gordon Green, who recently revived the “Halloween” franchise.
A sequel, “The Exorcist: Deceiver,” will hit in theaters on April 18, 2025, Universal announced Tuesday, along with releasing the trailer for “Believer.” They are the first two entries in a planned “Exorcist” trilogy.
“The Exorcist: Believer” features not one, but two demonic girls who become possessed after being saved from a supposed kidnapping. Burstyn’s MacNeil turns up at the doorsteps of their homes with a helping hand, having once had a possessed daughter of her own. Still, it’s uncertain whether the woman can truly save the two girls — covered in bloody Satanic markings and devouring pages of the Bible in the new footage.
Here’s the official logline: “Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett) on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil.”
“Believer” will also star Ann Dowd, Okwui Okpokwasili, Jennifer Nettles and Raphael Sbarge.
The original “Exorcist,” based on William Peter Blatty’s novel, tells the story of Regan (Linda Blair), a young girl who undergoes strange changes when possessed by a demonic entity, and her mother (Burstyn), an actress seeking the help of priests to help perform an exorcism on her daughter. The film sparked immediate controversy upon release, with some audience members reporting alleged heart attacks, miscarriages and other visceral reactions to the movie’s graphic gore and intense religious scenes. A massive commercial hit, “The Exorcist” went on to earn a best picture nomination at the Oscars and took home two trophies for best adapted screenplay and best sound.
The original film spawned four sequels over the years, though “Believer” forgoes that established chronology, much like Green’s rebooted “Halloween” trilogy. The new “Halloween” films saw Jamie Lee Curtis return as an older Laurie Strode, still haunted by the killer Michael Myers. The revival spawned two sequels, “Halloween Kills” and “Halloween Ends.”
Executive producers on “The Exorcist: Believer” are Danny McBride, Green,Stephanie Allain, Ryan Turek and Atilla Yücer.The Universal Pictures film is produced by Blumhouse and Morgan Creek Entertainment, in association with Rough House Pictures.
“The Exorcist: Believer” is set to hit theaters on Oct. 13.
Watch the trailer below.
