It was announced late last year that Blumhouse and Morgan Creek were developing a trilogy of direct sequels to “The Exorcist,” William Friedkin’s 1973 horror masterpiece.
Directed by David Gordon Green (“Halloween Ends”), the new films will not feature Friedkin’s collaboration.
Who will serve as a consultant or “spirit guide” will be Ellen Burstyn, who played the mother of possessed girl Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair).
The information was revealed by Green himself in an interview with Movie Maker.
“Our ‘The Exorcist’ is narratively bound by its characters, but not in terms of stylistic parallels. Tools and elements that have been present in the franchise for fifty years will be applied in a new way.
Enjoy watching:
He continued:
“Ellen [Burstyn] is on board the project and we filmed eight days with her a year ago to do a technical and creative exploration. She is our spirit guide and will return to advise us next week when we return to the battlefield. [William] Friedkin is not involved in the film. If he’s as good at making music as John Carpenter is, we’ll ask him to write something for the soundtrack, but that’s about it. Maybe he’ll do a version of Tubular Bells [a música tema do filme de 1973].”
Previously, Green told Variety that recording for the new version would begin shortly after Halloween.
“We have started [as filmagens] weeks away, and we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and dive into the next amazing franchise,” he commented. “We have an amazing cast coming together and scripts we’re excited about.”
After refusing to appear in sequels to the original film, Burstyn spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about her return as Chris MacNeil and joked that she was tempted by the devil to return because she was told. offered a lot of money for the proposal.
On the other hand, the actress will invest part of this money in scholarships for the master’s program in dramaturgy at Pace University, located in New York, United States.
“I refused to come back several times since I was called for ‘The Exorcist 2’. I said no every time. This time they offered me a lot of money and I still said no. So they surprised me when they said, ‘We’re going to double the offer.’ So I said, ‘Okay, let me think about it.’ The next thought that came to mind was, “I feel like the devil is asking my price.
She continued:
“Then I thought, ‘My award is a scholarship program for talented students in our master’s program at Pace University. This is my price. So I went back, increased the offer and ended up getting what I wanted, and I have a scholarship program for young actors.
Finally, she added:
“And I’ve already shot most of the film. I really like the writer and director, David Gordon Green. I met him and we talked about the script and so on and I promised him four more days if he needed it. He edited the film and loaded those four days, so I’ll be back for more filming in November. The film will be released in 2023 on the 50th anniversary of the original “The Exorcist”.
In addition to Burstyn, the cast also includes Ann Dowd (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Leslie Odom Jr. (“Hamilton”).
The new project is set to premiere on October 13, 2023. Scott Teems is signing the screenplay.
In an interview with Comic Book, he detailed how he intends to salvage the tension and dread of the first film in this new entry, ensuring it honors the franchise’s legacy.
“‘The Exorcist’ is a different beast than ‘Halloween’ because it’s a cult movie and revered in a unique way. Both franchises are huge hits and have become hugely popular, but there’s something about “The Exorcist” that makes people see it as more than just a movie. Honestly, it puts more pressure on me while I’m working, but it also motivates me to deliver something that makes me think, “We all sworn not to tell this story unless we can tell it in a way that honors us.”
He continued:
“So we dug the whole story and tried to figure out everything we could explore before there was a deal. Before we even tried to make a deal or discuss ownership rights and all that, we wanted to make sure we could live up to the original. During the pandemic, me, David, Danny [McBride] and Jason Blum were getting together via Zoom and talking about what would be the best idea… It wasn’t until we were sure that we decided to move on. We didn’t want to do it just to do it. We knew it had to be something we all believed in. And we came up with this idea.
The upcoming films will be a direct sequel to the 1973 film, and according to The New York Times, Universal Pictures paid around $400 million for the rights to make a new trilogy — an amount that includes the theatrical and theatrical release. .
