Exactly 50 years ago this fall, the most terrifying horror film in history landed on screens, shocking audiences around the world. And next month, a new chapter begins, with the latest trailer forThe Exorcist: Believerteasing the horrors to come. Coming courtesy ofUniversal Pictures,The Exorcist: Believerwill the first of three new movies in the iconic series, withThe Exorcist: Deceiverset to follow in 2025. See new footage from the first chapter in the trilogy below.
“Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Tony winner and Oscar nominee Leslie Odom, Jr.; One Night in Miami, Hamilton) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett, Good Girls) on his own,” the official synopsis for The Exorcist: Believer begins.
“But when Angela and her friend Katherine (newcomer Olivia O’Neill), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil.”
From Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green, who shattered the status quo with their resurrection of theHalloweenfranchise, comesThe Exorcist: Believer. The film stars Emmy winner Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale, Hereditary) as Victor and Angela’s neighbor, and Grammy winner Jennifer Nettles (Harriet, The Righteous Gemstones) and two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz (Fosse/Verdon, Bloodline) as the parents of Katherine, Angela’s friend.
And, for the first time since the 1973 film, Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn reprises her iconic role as Chris MacNeil, an actress who has been forever altered by what happened to her daughter Regan five decades before.
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Can the Exorcist: Believer Live Up to the Legacy?
WhenThe Exorcist, based on the best-selling book by William Peter Blatty, was released, it changed the culture forever, obliterating box office records and earning 10 Academy Award nominations, becoming the first horror film ever nominated for Best Picture.
The Exorcist: Believeris directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay by Peter Sattler (Camp X-Ray) and David Gordon Green, from a story by Scott Teems (Halloween Kills), Danny McBride (Halloweentrilogy) and David Gordon Green, based on characters created by William Peter Blatty. Using a similar (but apparently different) approach to theirHalloweensequel trilogy, it remains to be seen whetherThe Exorcist: Believercan come anywhere close to living up to the iconic legacy of the original. Or even if it can at least successfully reboot the beloved horror franchise for modern audiences.
The Exorcist: Believeris scheduled to be released on June 29, 2025, after beingscared away from its original release dateby Taylor Swift. The next installment,The Exorcist: Deceiver, is set for release on August 20, 2025. The film is produced by Jason Blum for Blumhouse and by David Robinson and James G. Robinson for Morgan Creek Entertainment.
