The Pope's Exorcist Is Getting A Sequel Because The Movies Are Back, Baby

If you like exorcism movies and the Catholic Church, boy do we have some good news for you! "The Pope's Exorcist," which stars Oscar-winner Russell Crowe as the exorcist in question, is getting a sequel. This is according to the folks at Bloody Disgusting, who bring word that Sony and Screen Gems are in early development on a follow-up to the hit horror flick, which is currently smack dab in the middle of its theatrical run. But they're clearly wasting no time in getting a follow-up moving in the right direction.

Few details are available at this time, but it is believed that Crowe will return in the lead role. Development is underway at the studio, but there's no word on who will pen the screenplay, what the story will look like, or whether or not director Julius Avery will be back in the saddle. Though one assumes that Avery, who previously directed the underrated "Overlord," would return in some capacity.

The horror flick was inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, who served as the chief exorcist of the Vatican. It follows Amorth as he investigates a young boy's possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden. But given that Amorath has lots and lots of case files to explore, there's ample opportunity for further stories here.

There's a good reason why Sony didn't waste time getting a sequel in development. "The Pope's Exorcist" has been in theaters for less than two weeks but has already earned $52 million worldwide. That's not at all bad considering it carries a very reasonable $18 million budget. Given how things are going, it's not unreasonable to imagine this movie finishing with at least $75-$80 million, if not more. That's more than enough to justify a sequel, and that's why horror tends to spawn long-running franchises.

It is and always has been true that, generally speaking, horror can be made on the cheap and has a reliably sizable audience. Sure, superhero movies have been incredibly popular for more than two decades, but we're talking about $100 million blockbusters (on the low end). That requires gigantic sums at the box office to constitute success. Yet, a horror movie like "Barbarian" with a $4.5 million budget can be a hit with less than $50 million worldwide. Or this year's "Skinamarink" can be a hit with $2 million because it cost next to nothing to make. This to say, this is just how horror works and it makes every bit of sense to see Crowe back doing more exorcisms for our collective entertainment.

"The Pope's Exorcist" sequel does not currently have a release date.