Mike Flanagan recently wrapped up his time with Netflix to move onto other projects including an Amazon TV deal. This closes the door on an incredible streaming TV run (including The Haunting Of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and The Fall Of The House Of Usher) and — as was the hope for fans of Flanagan’s ongoing Stephen King adaptation list — opened the door for a long-desired and worthy TV series adaptation of The Dark Tower.
Or not? Flanagan has already unveiled his vision for that series’ opening shot, and horror audiences know that he consistently delivers at or above expectations. Also, there is no shortage of Reddit threads in which fans of both King and Flanagan hope that The Dark Tower will happen sooner rather than later, but it sure does not look like the Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep director will have the free time to hop on more King in the near future (although The Life Of Chuck has finished filming and should soon reveal a release date).
Yup, The Dark Tower appears to be on the shelf again because Flanagan has signed on to revamp The Exorcist franchise for Blumhouse. Let’s talk about what we can expect from this collaboration:
Plot
Expect something different than what you’ve seen before, not only where The Exorcist is concerned by also on a Flanagan-trademark note. Obviously, more than 50 years after the release of the 1973 classic starring Linda Blair, Flanagan wants to add to the franchise rather than be a rehash. That adds up to a new story instead of redoing events that have unfolded already in the six existing films (including David Gordon Green’s 2023 effort, The Exorcist: Believer) or the short-lived TV series.
We can also rest assured — and The Fall Of The House Of Usher is the most recent example of this success — that Flanagan is a master at reimagining source material in ways that we never knew that we needed. Additionally, some of the plans revealed by Flanagan at this past weekend’s ATX Festival give hints of how this will be different from his usual vibe in a key way.
As relayed by Indiewire, do not expect heavy, Flanagan-esque monologuing or an easter-egg-filled approach in his The Exorcist reimagining:
“Part of what I said to Blumhouse and Universal when we were discussing this was I don’t think this is a monologue project. The ritual itself is something of a monologue, but we’ve seen that. We’ve seen somebody shout prayers at somebody. That was scary 50 years ago, I don’t see that working here.
“Younger audiences drive horror. That’s a fact. A lot of the audiences who will come see this likely haven’t seen the original, and aren’t going to be impressed by any allusions to that. So this isn’t really where you want to do the long monologues about religion.”
What else? Flanagan reminded the audience that he got his sermon-heavy show “out of my system” already with Midnight Mass, and for The Exorcist, “This should just be really scary.”
A few weeks ago, Flanagan also told Variety that his “radical new take” would not take any form of a sequel, and he’s “terrified” because he loves this franchise but will leap headfirst into this project:
“‘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.”
Jason Blum feels likewise, and he declared, “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.”
Cast
Zero concrete casting news has surfaced yet, but Flanagan has worked with an enormous rotation of frequent collaborators. So, there’s gotta be a role for Carla Gugino in this overhauled franchise. It’s also likely that we could see Kate Siegel, Mark Harmon, Annabeth Gish, Rahul Kohli, Samantha Sloyan, and/or Katie Parker. Oooh, let’s have some Willa Fitzgerald in this franchise, please? And do not sleep on how well Hamish Linklater can do the priest thing.
Release Date
Blumhouse hasn’t forecast a release date yet, but there appears to be no reason that Flanagan — who seems to deliver something spooky every damn Halloween season — couldn’t have a film ready by fall 2025.
Trailer
No dice yet! But last year, 1973’s The Exorcist received a 4K release, preceded by the below trailer.