One of the best horror movies of all time for various reasons, William Friedkin’s The Exorcist is still a powerful movie in and of itself, but it’d be silly to think that its impact is just as powerful today as it was when it hit theaters 53 years ago. Horror has come a long way since then, with diminishing returns for the franchise as a whole, but audiences are still fascinated by demonic possession stories, especially with genre masterminds like Mike Flanagan at the helm.
The writer and director behind The Haunting of Hill House, The Fall of the House of Usher (still my favorite horror show of the 21st century) and Doctor Sleep, Flanagan is bringing his storytelling skills to the Exorcist universe, but obviously not in the most traditional ways. His project is still untitled, and fans still have a lot to learn about it, but we thankfully know more about it now than we did when it was originally announced.
So pour yourself a glass of pea-soup soda, or whatever beverage you’d actually prefer to be drinking, and read on for everything we know so far about Mike Flanagan’s upcoming Exorcist movie for Universal Pictures.
When Is The Release Date For Mike Flanagan's Exorcist Movie?
At one point earlier in its development cycle, in June 2024 to be more exact, Universal announced the new Exorcist project was being set to release on March 13. 2026. Considering not a lick of footage has been released, and casting updates are only just surfacing regularly here in February 2026, that initial premiere goal would obviously be impossible to hit.
Despite previous production delays stemming from Flanagan’s work on his new Carrie series adaptation, the new horror feature is rolling on all of its spooky cylinders currently, and in January 2026, the studio unveiled a new release date of March 12, 2027, which will hopefully remain the case without any further changes.
Scarlett Johansson Is Heading Up An Already Impressive Cast
Though it’s technically the follow-up to David Gordon Green’s box office disappointment Exorcist: The Believer, Mike Flanagan’s feature is based on an original idea, and it’s not expected that any previously introduced franchise characters will be involved, though that could obviously change. But that’s hardly disappointing when so many other solid actors have already been announced for the new movie.
Scarlett Johansson (Character TBA)
To date, Scarlett Johansson’s only real dabbling in horror features has been for Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, which was technically more of a dark sci-fi tale with existentially horrifying concepts. So it was quite the shock to hear the Jurassic World: Rebirth star signed on for her first collaboration with Mike Flanagan, but I’ve no doubt they’ll be a match made in horror heaven.
Diane Lane (Character TBA)
With a slew of award nominations under her belt, Diane Lane was the second cast member announced for Flanagan’s new movie. And like Johansson, Lane is not an actor who has ever been synonymous with genre stories — I’ll blame Judge Dredd for that — though she’s well-equipped for psychological thrillers such as 2025’s darkly comedic Anniversary. I can imagine she’ll put those skills to work in this disturbing universe, though it’s hard to tell exactly who she might be playing.
Jacobi Jupe (Character TBA)
Young actor Jacobi Jupe has been on a career rise, going from Peter Pan & Wendy to the Apple TV thriller Before to Chloé Zhao’s universally acclaimed drama Hamnet, where he portrays the titular child of William Shakespeare. As such, he’s a promising addition to Flanagan’s Exorcist project, as the director’s projects are known for featuring nuanced performances from preteen actors. While not quite confirmed yet, Jupe is reportedly playing the son of ScarJo’s character.
Chiwetel Ejiofor (Character TBA)
The first cast member announced for Mike Flanagan’s exorcism movie that has worked with the filmmaker in the past, Chiwetel Ejiofor has been tapped to play an unidentified character in the new horror movie. Ejiofor previously portrayed the character Marty Anderson in last year’s Stephen King adaptation The Life of Chuck, and I couldn’t be more excited for another A-tier actor to join the list of frequent collaborators. According to THR, the actor is allegedly playing an ex-con who becomes a priest.
Laurence Fishburne (Character TBA)
The most prolific of any previously revealed cast members, Laurence Fishburne is no stranger to both quality genre projects and franchises. The Pee-Wee’s Playhouse vet co-starred in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, Event Horizon, The Matrix series, Predators, Hannibal, and more. I’d expect him to take on the role of an esteemed priest or other authority figure within the Catholic church, but that could be all wrong.
Mike Flanagan is known for populating his projects with a dozen or more actors culled from a growing list of frequent collaborators, from his wife Kate Siegel to Carla Gugino to Rahul Kohli to Samantha Sloyan (who is co-starring in his Carrie series). As such, fans can expect another major casting announcement that addresses the slew of co-stars filling out the world.
Flanagan was revealed to be in talks with Blumhouse in early May 2024 to be tackling some kind of an Exorcist project, but it was unclear at the time if it would be related to prior plans.
Mike Flanagan Is Writing And Directing An All-New Story Within The Exorcist Universe
Rarely one to helm projects scripted by other writers, Mike Flanagan will indeed be directing from his own screenplay for this new project. At the time of the initial announcement, he shared an excited reaction that explained how impetus for joining another project meant to reimagine a classic horror release. In his words:
The Exorcist is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker, and it is an honor to have the chance to try something fresh, bold, and terrifying within its universe. Reuniting with my friends at Blumhouse, with whom I’ve made some of my favorite pieces of work, only makes this more exciting.
The Exorcist is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker, and it is an honor to have the chance to try something fresh, bold, and terrifying within its universe. Reuniting with my friends at Blumhouse, with whom I’ve made some of my favorite pieces of work, only makes this more exciting.
Though he’s still keeping all story details bundled up and locked away until a later point, Flanagan has confirmed that this new narrative is definitely not tied into the Believer storyline, which was meant to spark a full trilogy until low box office returns caused the studio to shutter its efforts. It’s neither a remake nor a sequel to any previous entries, and is merely described as being “set in” this world.
The new Exorcist film will also be produced by Flanagan’s Red Room Productions, and will be the fourth project that Flanagan teamed up with Blumhouse Pictures on, following 2013’s Oculus and 2016’s double dose of Hush and Ouija: Origin of Evil. Jason Blum shared the statement below around the time the project was announced:
Mike’s voice and vision are indispensable for horror fans and we are excited to welcome him back to Blumhouse. I immediately responded to Mike’s new take on the world of The Exorcist and can’t wait for audiences to experience it.
Hopefully Mike Flanagan's new ideas for this universe are indeed strong enough to keep the franchise afloat without suffering another box office blow like The Exorcist: Believer, which unfortunately suffered even more due to Universal and Peacock having paid upwards of $400 million for the rights to Exorcist projects, which made it nearly impossible for a single movie to recoup those costs.
A New Production Start Is Now Set In Stone
Blumhouse-Atomic Monster and Morgan Creek are set to go into production on Mike Flanagan’s Exorcist project in New York City, with a starting window reportedly set for March 2026. Which will give Flanagan & Co. almost exactly a year’s time to go from the first slate to the absolute final post-production duties. With some filmmakers, that kind of a truncated timeline might seem dangerous, but Flanagan is known for delivering projects on time and without any publicized budget issues. So I wouldn’t expect any further delays.
So from now until March 7, 2027, start making your predictions on where and when in the film we'll see Mike Flanagan's cursed Lasser Glass show up as an easter egg, the same way he uses it in all his other projects.
