David Gordon Green's 'Exorcist' Movie Confirmed To Be A Direct Sequel To The Original

Call an old priest and a young priest, because David Gordon Green is giving us a The Exorcist sequel. The director, who previously created sequel magic in 2018 with his direct follow-up to 1978's Halloween, is at it again. In an interview with Total Film, Green shared all of the details on his Exorcist sequel, and why fans of existing sequels shouldn't fret.

Back in June, producer Jason Blum shared that he had faith Green could pull off his Halloween miracle on The Exorcist as well.

"[It's] going to be like David [Gordon Green]'s Halloween sequel," Blum told Den of Geek. "I think it's going to pleasantly surprise all the skeptics out there. We had a lot of skeptics about Halloween and David turned them around, and I think he's going to turn it around with The Exorcist."

Green wants fans to know that he's not interested in "erasing" the previous Exorcist sequels.

"The Exorcist has been written. That was one of my pandemic projects. It's not inaccurate [that it will be a sequel to the original film]. I like all the Exorcist movies," Green said. "And not only do I like them, I think they can all fall into the acceptable mythology for what I'm doing. It's not like I'm saying, 'Pretend that The Exorcist 2 never happened.' That's fine to exist. They're all fine to exist, and I enjoy all of them."

Because of his love for the franchise, Green is being careful to ensure he gives fans the best Exorcist sequel possible. Even if that means a ton of research.

"It's another fun legacy to be a part of, and hopefully we'll get that going in the near future. That one is a lot of research, rather than just impulsive screenwriting," he said. "That's one that you talk to a lot of people. You read a lot of books, and do a shit-load of interviews. There was such a dramatic authenticity to what that original film is. It's a lot more than I anticipated getting into it. And I guess I was naive to think that. But it was very exhilarating to be involved in a lot of those conversations that you find yourself in."

This isn't the first time The Exorcist sequels have been rebooted. The Fox TV series, which ran for two seasons from 2016-2017, also served as a direct sequel to the 1973 William Friedken film. The series didn't reveal that it was a direct sequel until its fifth episode, so some fans never discovered the connection. While the series was canceled after its second season, it developed a dedicated following for its unique take on the subject matter.

The 1973 The Exorcist film was based on the William Peter Blatty novel of the same name. It starred Linda Blair as a young girl who becomes possessed by a powerful demon. The movie is considered a horror classic, spawning four sequel and prequel films. There's no news on when we can expect this new The Exorcist sequel, but the 50th anniversary of the original in 2023 is a good guess.