‘The Exorcist’: Scarlett Johansson to Lead Mike Flanagan’s New Installment!!

Mike Flanagan has taken the reins of The Exorcist franchise, and his new film is now in possession of its star. Scarlett Johansson, who recently topped the box office charts with Jurassic World: Rebirth, is set to take the lead role in the new horror film. It will be the first entry in the long-running horror series since The Exorcist: Believer disappointed critics and audiences in 2023.

Says Flanagan, “Scarlett is a brilliant actress whose captivating performances always feel grounded and real, from genre films to summer blockbusters, and I couldn’t be happier to have her join this Exorcist film.” It will be a rare detour into horror for the star: she appeared in the giant-arachnid horror comedy Eight Legged Freaks as a teenager, and more recently starred as a man-hunting alien in human disguise in Jonathan Glazer‘s minimalist science fiction chiller Under the Skin in 2013. Certainly, Jurassic World: Rebirth had some strong horror elements, as well, as it pitted Johansson‘s intrepid crew of adventurers against a particularly twisted genetic dino-disaster known as the Distortus rex. So far, little is known about Flanagan‘s venture into the world of demonic possession, but it is said to be a “radical” new take on the universe of the original 1973 film.

What Is ‘The Exorcist’ Franchise About?

1973’s The Exorcist, which was directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty, concerned the possession of a young girl, Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), by the demonic Pazuzu. With her mother (Ellen Burstyn) helpless to do anything, two priests, Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) and Father Karras (Jason Miller) are called in to perform the titular exorcism. A massive critical and financial hit upon its release, The Exorcist was the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and is still considered one of the most frightening motion pictures ever made. However, it has proved difficult to recapture that magic. John Boorman‘s Exorcist II: The Heretic was laughed off the screen in 1977; an attempt to make a prequel in the early 2000s resulted in two movies, neither of them good; and the aforementioned Believer struck out at the box office and with critics despite the presence of Burstyn, Blair, and David Gordon Green, who revived the similarly moribund Halloween franchise. Only The Exorcist III, which Blatty both directed and wrote, has managed to break Pazuzu’s curse and achieve a cult following.

Flanagan has quickly established himself as one of the modern masters of on-screen horror. In addition to his acclaimed string of Netflix horror miniseries, including The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher, he’s adapted several Stephen King works for the screen, including Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep, and The Life of Chuck. Next up, he’s set to showrun a new series based on King‘s Carrie.