New Exorcist Director Mike Flanagan Is 'Terrified' To Be Taking On The Horror Classic [ATX Festival]
Earlier this month, horror mastermind Mike Flanagan was announced as the new heir apparent to the "Exorcist" franchise, assuming the reins from David Gordon Green in what's being described as a "radical new take" on the truly scary source material. Little is known about the "Haunting of Hill House" and "Midnight Mass" creator's plans for the long-running property, but at the annual ATX festival in Austin today, Flanagan spoke frankly about the pressure of crafting a new story in the shadow of one of the most frightening tales ever told.
"For 'The Exorcist' specifically, I'm f**king terrified," Flanagan admitted at a panel attended by /Film's Ryan Scott. A spotlight on adaptations titled "From Book To Script To Screen," the event also featured a number of other panelists, including the executive producers behind AMC's "Interview with the Vampire," ABC's "Will Trent," Netflix's "Black Mirror," and the Apple TV+ series "Silo." Flanagan drew crowd laughter when he answered a question about the simultaneous freedom and pressure of taking on a franchise by admitting he's scared as hell to tackle "The Exorcist." However, he also quickly established his "Exorcist" fan bona fides, talking up not just the classic 1973 film by William Friedkin, but also the sequels and books.
Flanagan has high praise for some of The Exorcist's sequels
"The franchise has had its ups and downs," Flanagan noted. He added, "I would argue the show is one of the 'ups' in a big way, and I thought it was just brilliant." The director was quick to give a shout-out to Jeremy Slater's "Exorcist" TV series, which lasted just two seasons but served as a direct sequel to Friedkin's film. When another panelist mentioned Ben Daniels' performance as the series lead, Flanagan called him "fantastic." The filmmaker also saw the show as a great example of a tricky type of follow-up — the likes of which doesn't always connect with horror fans. "Talk about how to do a legacy sequel, because damn, did that work," he explained.
Flanagan went on to recommend both William Peter Blatty's "Exorcist" sequel novel "Legion" ("If you've never read Blatty's novel 'Legion,' it's phenomenal") and "The Exorcist III" (he says "the jump scare in the hallways is maybe the greatest one, ever"). Despite his clear love for the franchise, the filmmaker also wryly acknowledged that not every "Exorcist" movie is a success. "With 'The Exorcist,' there's a lot of pressure but thankfully there are a lot of bodies on the field of people who have stepped on landmines–" he began to joke, and the audience's laughter drowned out the presumable punchline about failed "Exorcist" projects warning him about where not to step.
Tackling a classic horror story is nerve-wracking, but Flanagan's done it before
"The Exorcist: Believer" is, of course, the most recent failed sequel Flanagan will have to side-step. Originally planned as the start of an all-new trilogy, "Believer" made back its budget (but not the hefty price tag on the franchises' rights) at the box office while earning negative reviews. In January, it was announced that Green wouldn't be returning to helm the follow-up films as expected, and just a few short months later, Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum had tapped Flanagan to steer the franchise into the future. ""I immediately responded to Mike's new take on the world of 'The Exorcist' and can't wait for audiences to experience it," Blum said in a statement earlier this week.
This isn't the first time Flanagan has taken on a beloved property with a long pop cultural legacy. He's been responsible for wildly imaginative new takes on literary classics by Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, and Christopher Pike, and his upcoming "Dark Tower" series will be his third major Stephen King adaptation and counting. Ultimately, Flanagan says that preparing to tackle the world of "The Exorcist" takes him back to the queasy, nervous feeling of adapting King's sequel to "The Shining" in 2019. "I had a similar feeling when I signed on to 'Doctor Sleep' a few years back where I just kind of wake up a little nauseous every day," he told audiences at ATX. "We'll see. We'll see how it goes."