The Big Picture

• Mike Flanagan chosen to revamp Exorcist franchise after disappointing Believer film reception.
• Flanagan's expertise in themes of grief, mental health, religion makes him ideal for new Exorcist direction.
• Blumhouse trusts Flanagan's storytelling abilities, hoping for better results than previous film adaptation.

Last month, it was reported that Mike Flanagan had been tapped to take over the Exorcist franchise, after a less-than-stellar performance from David Gordon Green's The 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 with The Exorcist: Believer. Jason Blum is 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 the Exorcist franchise 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 film Ouija performed 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 when Ouija: Origin of Evil was released in 2016. Blumhouse's faith in Flanagan panned out, and it's that reason (plus his entire wheelhouse of filmmaking and storytelling) that makes him the perfect writer/director to take over the Exorcist franchise.

What Went Wrong With 'The Exorcist: Believer'?

When it was revealed that David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, the team behind the recent Halloween "Legasequel" trilogy, were next tackling The Exorcist, the news was met with praise from some and groans from others. Those who enjoyed the Halloween films 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 having Pazuzu possess Corey Cunningham. Still, Blumhouse had faith (there's that word again) that Green and McBride could deliver a new take on an old idea, and The Exorcist: Believer was 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.

Like Ouija, before it, The Exorcist: Believer made 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 original Exorcist worked because audiences genuinely cared about the character of Regan (Linda Blair). They didn't want her 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. In Believer, 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 match The Exorcist in aesthetics, but they failed to match the film's heart.

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: Believer was never going to compare to the original film, but what could? There is no world in which any type of sequel, prequel, or remake of The Exorcist would outdo the original. 1973 was a different time, with different standards, expectations, and sensibilities. But was Believer a 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 to Blumhouse 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 of Believer. But there are some fans of that film that might be a little disappointed. At the end of Believer, 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 of The Exorcist: Believer is the 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 his version of The 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 with Ouija: Origin of Evil and 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, and the one who paid a reported $400 million for the rights to The Exorcist, would presumably at least like to break even after this venture. To do that, they need to make more money. And while they did make $136 million on Believer, critical response means that audiences might not flock to the next film under The Exorcist banner. 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 the Ouija franchise.

When Jason Blum approached Mike Flanagan about penning and directing a sequel to Ouija, 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 Evil is a Flanagan film first, and Ouija film second. And it was a success. The film grossed about $81 million and, critically, it was received very well. Like many of Flanagan's titles, Origin of Evil worked 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 an Exorcist story simply because his previous movies and television shows have shared many thematic elements with the horror franchise. The Exorcist is 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 of The Exorcist, in several key ways.

Midnight Mass explores 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 about Midnight 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: Believer tells 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 Exorcist is, 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 good can triumph over evil, that light can overcome darkness, and that love can win. Flanagan's favorite themes and ideas are also the foundation of The Exorcist. In more ways than one, Flanagan has told this story before, which is what makes him the perfect writer/director to craft the new Exorcist story. And he's got our full faith.

The Exorcist: Believer is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.

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