Last month, it was reported thatMike Flanaganhad been tapped to take over the Exorcistfranchise, after a less-than-stellar performance fromDavid Gordon Green’sThe Exorcist: Believer, the first film in a now-canned trilogy. Rumors first abounded a few weeks ago, but it was confirmed last week that Flanagan is now, in fact, the harbinger of Pazuzu. It was announced that Flanagan is taking the franchise in a"radical new take," meaning he will not be continuing the story that began withThe Exorcist: Believer.Jason Blumis putting a lot of faith into Flanagan, believing that he can steer the ship to brighter horizons and write the script to a story that Blumhouse and Universal Pictures have already invested hundreds of millions of dollars into. It’s a lot of trust and faith to put in somebody, but Blumhouse’s belief in Mike Flanagan is well-founded for one simple reason:This is exactly the type of story Mike Flanagan likes to tell, and he’s even done it for Blumhouse before.
Not only has Flanagan tackled the biggest themes that theExorcistfranchise deals with in his previous work — grief, loss, trauma, mental health, religion, and faith —he has also partnered with Blumhouse to make a sequel to an existing IP that didn’t perform as well, critically, as the producers had hoped. The 2014 filmOuijaperformed decently enough in terms of box office, but it was critically panned. It made enough money to warrant a sequel, however, so Blumhouse approached Flanagan with the idea of crafting a sequel-cum-prequel to the film that, hopefully, would be better received. That’s exactly what happened whenOuija: Origin of Evilwas released in 2016. Blumhouse’s faith in Flanagan panned out, andit’s that reason (plus his entire wheelhouse of filmmaking and storytelling) that makes him the perfect writer/director to take over theExorcist franchise.
The Exorcist: Believer
What Went Wrong With ‘The Exorcist: Believer’?
When it was revealed thatDavid Gordon GreenandDanny McBride, the team behind the recentHalloween"Legasequel" trilogy, were next tackling The Exorcist, the news was met with praise from some and groans from others. Those who enjoyed theHalloweenfilms hoped that Green and McBride could once again breathe new life into a dormant franchise. But those who did not enjoy them were nervous that the duo would “ruin” yet another horror classic…probably by havingPazuzupossess Corey Cunningham. Still, Blumhouse had faith (there’s that word again) that Green and McBride could deliver a new take on an old idea, andThe Exorcist: Believerwas released in the U.S. in October 2023. Just a couple of months later, on December 1, it began streaming exclusively on the streamer, Peacock.
LikeOuija, before it,The Exorcist: Believermade money — enough for it to be considered a success — but audiences were less than enthused about the return of Pazuzu. And for good reason.The film was boring, redundant, and very paint-by-numbers. The characters were likable enough (at least, some of them), but there certainly weren’t enough reasons to care about whether they were possessed or not, even if said possessions happened to two children this time, instead of just one.The originalExorcistworked because audiences genuinely cared about the character of Regan(Linda Blair). They didn’twanther to be possessed, which is why, when Father Karras finally exorcises the demon and sacrifices himself to save Regan, viewers are able to finally let out the breath they’d been holding for the last 90 minutes. InBeliever, audiences are barely introduced to the two girls before they get possessed. It was as though the filmmakers were so intent on resembling the original film, so gung-ho on saying “Hey! Look! They have scary faces and say bad words!” that they forgot to give the audience a reason to care about the girls in the first place. Green and co. aimed to matchThe Exorcistin aesthetics, but they failed to match the film’s heart.
Mike Flanagan Is Producing a Found Footage Horror Movie
‘Shelby Oaks’ is directed by Chris Stuckmann.
Save for the title, this could have been any other direct-to-video exorcism movie. There were very few ties to the original and, in a world where “legacy characters” are en vogue,Ellen Burstyn’s role in the film was a complete waste.Worst of all, it just wasn’t very scary. And if you’re a filmmaker putting “The Exorcist” in your title, you better make damn sure that you’re supplying the scares.The Exorcist: Believerwas never going to compare to the original film, but what could? There is no world in which any type of sequel, prequel, or remake ofThe Exorcistwould outdo the original. 1973 was a different time, with different standards, expectations, and sensibilities. But wasBelievera worthy follow-up to the original? More importantly, did it leave audiences wanting more? The consensus seemed to be a resounding “no,” which has led toBlumhouse and Universal abandoning plans for the trilogy altogether and, more or less, starting from scratch. Enter: Mike Flanagan.
Mike Flanagan’s Exorcist Movie Will Not Be a Sequel to ‘Believer'
With the news that Flanagan and Blumhouse are intending to take the franchise in a completely different direction, most fans probably breathed a sigh of relief that they’re no longer beholden to the plot ofBeliever. But there are some fans of that film that might be a little disappointed. At the end ofBeliever, Pazuzu tricks the parents of the two possessed girls, which leads to one of the girls literally being dragged into hell. It is, perhaps, the only scene of the movie that held even just a little bit of weight. Most who saw it, and knew of the plans for the proposed trilogy, probably assumed that in one of the sequels, the girl would be saved from the depths of hell and, hopefully, reunited with her family. Now that plans for the sequels have been abandoned, it seems as though poor Katherine is destined to remain in hell for the rest of eternity. It’s kind of a bummer when you think about it. Still, good reviews and more money are much more important than the soul of a young, fictional Baptist girl. So rest in peace, Katherine. You probably won’t.
The only other interesting thing to come out ofThe Exorcist: Believeristhe reunion of Chris and Regan MacNeil. This relationship, too, seemed like it would be explored further in the upcoming sequels, but now it seems as though Chris and Regan are going back to the drawing board. Of course, there’s a very good chance that Flanagan could reintroduce both characters into hisversion ofThe Exorcist, and we hope that he does. It would be nice to see Regan take on Pazuzu one more time, as a grown woman — maybe even one that doesn’t need the patriarchy to fight her battles for her. Mike Flanagan’s stories always feature strong, independent women characters.So, should Regan be given an arc that sees her face the demon who nearly destroyed her childhood, she’s in good hands with Flanagan. But Flanagan could also tell a completely new, different story with just minor references to what came before. That’s what he did withOuija: Origin of Eviland audiences responded in kind. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Mike Flanagan’s ‘Ouija: Origin of Evil’ Is Better Than the Original
The newest incarnation of the Exorcist saga was intended to be a trilogy. Universal, the other production company working alongside Blumhouse, andthe one who paida reported $400 million for the rights toThe Exorcist, would presumably at least like to break even after this venture. To do that, they need to make more money. And whilethey did make $136 million onBeliever, critical response means that audiences might not flock to the next film underThe Exorcistbanner. Unless, of course, Mike Flanagan is attached to the film. The good news is that this exact situation has kind of happened before with Blumhouse and theOuijafranchise.
When Jason Blum approached Mike Flanagan about penning and directing a sequel toOuija, he basically promised him creative carte blanche.Blum said that Flanagan could do what he wanted;he could tell his own story, make it a period piece, or focus on a family dynamic (a Flanagan trademark). Best of all, Flanagan only had to vaguely reference the original film.Ouija: Origin of Evilis a Flanagan film first, and Ouija film second. And it was a success.The film grossed about $81 millionand, critically, it was received very well. Like many of Flanagan’s titles,Origin of Evilworked because audiences cared about the characters and it was scary. It’s a simple formula, really. Horror fans don’t ask for much. They just want to be scared, and they want to have characters to root for. It’s a formula that Flanagan knows all too well, which explains why Blumhouse would go to him once again to breathe new life into an ill-fated horror franchise.
Mike Flanagan’s Past Work Has Common Themes With The Exorcist
In addition to the fact that Blumhouse has previously called on him to “fix” a film franchise,Mike Flanagan is the perfect writer/director to tell anExorciststory simply because his previous movies and television shows have shared many thematic elements with the horror franchise.The Exorcistis a story of loss and grief and trauma and death and faith — all themes that Mike Flanagan has tackled in his own stories, to various degrees of success. In particular,Midnight Mass— Flanagan’s third Netflix series — is reminiscent ofThe Exorcist, in several key ways.
Midnight Massexplores trauma, grief, and guilt, as well as faith and the lack thereof. Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) used to be a practicing Catholic. Traumatic events led to Riley losing his religion as he searched for truth because, sometimes, the two are not congruent. But Riley eventually found his faith again when he was faced with unrelenting evil because, ostensibly, if there is evil, there has to be good to combat it. If the devil exists, so, too, must God. Right? The interesting thing aboutMidnight Mass, however, is that it might not have been God whom Riley placed his faith in. More likely, he put his faith in people. And sometimes, that’s just as powerful.The Exorcist: Believertells a similar story. When Victor (Leslie Odom Jr.), the father of one of the possessed girls, comes face-to-scary-face with evil, he finally regains his faith because there is simply no other option. But he doesn’t just regain his faith in God, but himself too. At least, that seems to be the idea Green was going for but, again, there just wasn’t enough time devoted to making audiences care about Victor’s beliefs and convictions. Flanagan won’t have that problem. He has proven, time and time again, that his stories are character first, scares second.
The Exorcistis, at its core, a story about faith. It’s a story that focuses on faith in God, in others, and in one’s self. Mike Flanagan has made a career out of telling stories like that. His work is about life and death and good and evil and light and darkness. Many of Flanagan’s works express faith in others, and in the idea that goodcantriumph over evil, that lightcanovercome darkness, and that lovecanwin.Flanagan’s favorite themes and ideas are also the foundation ofThe Exorcist.In more ways than one, Flanagan has told this story before, which is what makes him the perfect writer/director to craft the newExorciststory. And he’s got our full faith.
The Exorcist: Believeris available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
