2023’s The Exorcist: Believer was an attempt to reboot the classic horror franchise in the same way that the Halloween series was revived in order to give it new life. Unfortunately, the demon possession-centric film did not become the major hit that the Michael Meyers-centric series was. However, despite the box office struggles, and the fact that the sequel has been removed from Universal's release schedule, Jason Blum insists the sequel will still happen.
The lackluster success of The Exorcist: Believer might kill other potential franchises. However, it’s been suggested that because a great deal of money was spent upfront by Universal on the rights to the franchise, the movie series (which could see changes) will move forward one way or another. While speaking with The Direct, Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum seemed to be echoing that sentiment. He said that the movie is moving forward but that at this point, nobody is sure what the production will be. With that, it’s been pulled from the list of upcoming horror movies for the time being. Blum said…
We are definitely going to make another Exorcist movie, but I wanted more time to figure out what it would be. I have no idea what it's going to be yet.
The movie, which was titled The Exorcist: Deceiver (though obviously that's now up in the air), would have followed the events of Believer, a movie directed by David Gordon Green, who co-wrote it with Danny McBride and Scott Teems. Much like the recent Halloween movies. Believer was written as a direct sequel to the original Exorcist and ignores all previous sequels. Unfortunately, lightning did not strike twice. Believer won the box office in its opening weekend -- but with lackluster numbers that saw the movie bring in less than $140 million worldwide during its total run.
Clearly, the film didn’t work for audiences, so it makes some sense that the sequel would need to be rethought. At this point, Jason Blum admits to having no idea what the movie will be, which would seem to indicate that even though Deceiver reportedly had a completed script back in October, that screenplay is not going to be used. It sounds like the project is going back to square one to figure out where to go with it, and that may be to its benefit
It will certainly be interesting to see where all this goes. Anybody who liked The Exorcist: Believer and was looking forward to a sequel likely won’t be getting whatever it was that they thought they would receive. A new project may end up being more successful but possibly by being something very unlike its predecessor, which may not make it much of a sequel at all.
Those who've yet to see Believer can check out the Exorcist sequel using a Peacock subscription, and look out for other horror flicks on the 2024 movie schedule.
