You know what the prime time television schedule needs more of? Exorcisms. With that in mind, Fox has ordered the adaptation ofWilliam Peter Blatty’s1971 bookThe Exorcistto pilot. ScreenwriterJeremy Slater, ofFantastic FourandThe Lazarus Effect, has been tapped to pen the hour-long drama. He’ll also executive produce alongsideJames Robinson,David RobinsonandBarbara Wallin a production from 20th Century Fox Television and Morgan Creek Productions.Update:Deadline reports thatRupert Wyatt(Rise of the Planet of the Apes) will direct the pilot.
THRreported on Fox’s order ofThe Exorcistto pilot, describing the modern reinvention as “a propulsive, serialized psychological thriller following two very different men tackling one family’s case of horrifying demonic possession, and confronting the face of true evil.” Blatty most famously adapted his own work forWilliam Friedkin’shorror film of the same name, for which the author won one of the picture’s two Oscars.
The book, which was inspired by the 1949 exorcism ofRoland Doe, centers on the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl, Regan, and the resulting exorcism conducted by two priests with the aim to restore Regan’s soul. It sounds like the TV version would skew close to the source material as well, though I can’t imagine the famous foul-mouthed Regan, as portrayed byLinda Blair, will make its way to prime time television. Then again, early comparisons to the project referenceBryan Fuller’sHannibalseries, which brought the cannibalistic sociopath to the small screen in fantastic form.
Speaking of fantastic, screenwriter Slater’s work onFantastic Fouris currently nominated for aRazzie for Worst Screenplayalong withSimon KinbergandJosh Trank, so that doesn’t necessarily bode well for this project. His only previous feature film script came by way of last year’s little-seen sci-fi/horror/thrillerThe Lazarus Effect, which currently enjoys a13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite those less-than-stellar performances, Slater is also tapped to writeAdam Wingard’sDeath Noteadaptation, and wrote the psychological thriller,Pet. Time will tell if his work onThe Exorcistis able to replicate the classic film’s style, staying-power, and/or critical and financial success.
