There are some truly iconic horror movies that everyone should know about – especially if they’re just starting to get into horror. You could check out all the Halloween movies, or maybe even get into the Friday the 13th films, but there’s one classic horror movie that stands above the rest, and that isThe Exorcist.
There are actually four other Exorcist films that were released after the first legendary 1970s horror movie, but none have ever quite reached the heights of the original. However, a new The Exorcist movie is coming to screens in 2023, titled The Exorcist: Believer, and there’s plenty that we know about it. Here is what we know so far.
What Is The Exorcist: Believer’s Release Date?
2023 is looking to be quite the year for horror movies. According to Deadline, it's been confirmed The Exorcist: Believer will release in theaters on October 6, 2023. Originally, it would release a week later, but it was announced by AMC that Taylor Swift: The ERAS Tour concert film would release on the 13th. Because Blumhouse didn't want to compete, the film was pushed up a week.
This year has already released some great horror films, from the very much loved M3GAN (even if some people couldn’t really get behind it), to the latest M. Night Shyamalan film, Knock at the Cabin. In July 2023, we even had a new A24 horror movie release, Talk to Me, which has been getting amazing reviews. Our 2023 movie schedule is packed to the brim with excellent horror movies, and now The Exorcist: Believer will join that.
Check Out The Trailer For The Exorcist: Believer
If you’re curious about what scares The Exorcist: Believer has for viewers, the first trailer for the film was released. It’s so scary that some people are frightened to even go see the film in theaters. But to me, that sounds like a fun time. Be sure to check out the trailer down below for a peek at the cast and some truly horrifying scenes:
Ellen Burstyn, Leslie Odom Jr. And More Will Star
When it comes to horror movie sequels, it’s usually pretty rare that the cast from the original film comes back to reprise their roles. It’s only happened a handful of times, with examples such as Jamie Lee Curtis in the Halloween franchise, or the stars of Scream. However, it seems like this addition to The Exorcist franchise is traveling in that direction.
According to that article from The Hollywood Reporter regarding the announcement of the film, it was reported in July 2021 that Ellen Burstyn was returning to the franchise to reprise her character, Chris MacNeil, the mother of the girl who was possessed by a demon in the original. Despite there being four other movies in the franchise, this will be Burstyn’s first time coming back to the role, which is major – and already makes me wonder what kind of story it will have to make the original star return.
Also reported in that THR article was that Leslie Odom Jr. took on a starring role too, and in August 2022, it was also confirmed from The Hollywood Reporter that Ann Dowd had signed onto the movie. Ann Dowd has been in a variety of movies, including Ari Aster’s film, Hereditary, as well as titles such as Marley & Me, Side Effects, and more. She also starred in the show The Leftovers and the popular Hulu TV series, The Handmaid’s Tale.
Leslie Odom Jr. is primarily known for his starring role as Aaron Burr in the original Hamilton cast, but has since moved into movies, such as Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, One Night In Miami…, The Many Saints of Newark, and more.
Several other people have been confirmed to appear in The Exorcist: Believer. These include Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett and Olivia Marcum.
Universal has also revealed the character names – . Leslie Odom Jr. will play Victor Fielding, Lidya Jewett will play Angela, Olivia Marcum will play Katherine, Ann Dowd will be portraying Victor and Angela’s neighbor, Jennifer Nettles and Norbert Leo Butz will play the parents of Katherine, and of course, Ellen Burstyn will play Chris MacNeil.
The Exorcist: Believer Follows A Father Seeking Help From Chris MacNeil Following Supernatural Events
While plot details were kept under wraps for some time, with the release of the new trailer, a slew of information was delivered to the public, and now we have an idea of what happens.
According to Universal’s description of the film, The Exorcist: Believer follows a single father named Victor, whose life is turned upside down when his daughter, Angela, and her friend, Katherine, suddenly vanish into the woods for three days straight.
When the two girls return, they have no memory, and if that wasn’t strange enough, a series of supernatural and terrifying events starts to affect them. Victor has no choice but to seek help outside of his home, so he decides to find the one person who has experienced this before and speak with her: Chris MacNeil.
Talk about an enticing premise. That sounds like something I’m down for. Leslie Odom Jr. even talked about the upcoming film when he was talking on the red carpet for the Netflix movie, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery in December 2022.
Deadline asked Odom Jr. about how the filming process for the new Exorcist movie was going, since they were filming at the time, and he said he believes what they are making is “really scary” and fun for audiences:
It’s very exciting. Yeah, we’re on week four. I’m having a ball with David [Gordon Green] and this cast. I hope and believe that we’re making something, first of all, really scary and fun. But also, meaningful, and y’know, deep.
With that description and Odom Jr. confirming it, I have a feeling we’ll be scared out of our seats. Just from the trailer that we see, there are plenty of moments that are already pretty terrifying, from children staring up ominously at the ceiling with upside-down crosses carved on their foreheads to terrifying black and white imagery. I'm already freaked out.
David Gordon Green Directed The Film
For those who don’t know, David Gordon Green directed The Exorcist: Believer, according to Variety. To me, this makes me both nervous and excited, for many reasons. Green has become very well-known in the horror world. While he was successful in the film industry due to his popular comedies and dramas like Pineapple Express, All the Real Girls, and Stronger, he started to get into the horror world with the Halloween trilogy, beginning in 2018.
The first Halloween film in 2018 was great. Then both Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends were less successful in terms of quality – and that’s coming from both me as a horror fan and from critics as well. However, I do think that he is excellent at world-building and I think that he’s a good choice for this franchise. Only time will tell, though
Filming Wrapped In March 2023
According to the Variety article about Green helming the film, it was confirmed that filming for The Exorcist: Believer was going to begin after Halloween 2022, as the director confirmed on the red carpet for Halloween Ends that they would be starting after the holiday.
In the interview that Leslie Odom Jr. gave to Deadline during the premiere for Glass Onion, he said they were on week four of filming, and that was during the second week of November 2022 – so perhaps they started earlier than Green had initially thought.
Then, in December 2022, Deadline confirmed that filming on the new Exorcist film had stopped temporarily, as Odom Jr. was going through an unspecified health crisis.
However, it seemed filming did start back up again at some point, because Deadline confirmed in March 2023 that filming on The Exorcist: Believer had wrapped.
The Exorcist Reboot Is The First In A New Trilogy
The last thing we should go over is that this isn’t going to be the last Exorcist movie. In fact, according to Deadline, this is the first of a planned trilogy that Universal and Peacock agreed on in a $400 million-plus deal.
So, that means there’s going to be a heck of a lot more movies coming out soon, and The Exorcist: Believer is going to be the first movie in that trilogy. The second film, titled, The Exorcist: Deceiver, is set to release on April 18, 2025, according to a late July 2023 report from The Hollywood Reporter.
What are you the most excited for when it comes to the new Exorcist film? The new cast? The director? Everything else? Regardless, it’ll surely be a thrilling experience.
