It has been 17 years because the final entry in The Exorcist franchise, Paul Schrader’s Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist, however the saga is because of be resuscitated subsequent yr. Blumhouse Productions and Morgan Creek have tapped David Gordon Green to make the primary movie of a deliberate trilogy to kick off on October 13, 2023, so hypothesis is heavy on what route the traditional horror sequence will go.
What is thought thus far is that the movie, to be produced by Jason Blum, David Robinson, and James Robinson, is about to be a direct sequel. It intends to be a continuation of all of the earlier installments in The Exorcist chronology, in contrast to the latest 2018-2022 Halloween trilogy that Green helmed, which discarded what went down in earlier sequels.
No phrase on whether or not the sequence’ first star, Linda Blair because the famously possessed Regan, will return. However, Ellen Burstyn has been forged to reprise her function from the 1973 authentic as her mom and will probably be joined by actor/singer Leslie Odom Jr. in a number one function.
The new Exorcist, which can fall on the franchise’s fiftieth anniversary, will probably be written by Green and Peter Sattler from a narrative by Green, Scott Teems, and Danny McBride and has lots to dwell as much as. Let’s have a look at what the filmmakers might want to get proper to ensure that it to fall in line efficiently with the long-lasting canon.
Getting Back to the Basics of the Original Exorcist Franchise
The central story of possession must be re-established to introduce new generations to the franchise that started life as William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel. A summation with retrospective footage may make for an impactful opening for the reboot/sequel. To acquaint (or re-acquaint) movie-goers with the epic sage, characters should be strongly recognized. Crucial plot factors should be defined, with the tone, settings, and aesthetic recognized and liked by followers given an strategy that’s each devoted to the earlier entries and recent to fashionable sensibilities.
As 2023’s The Exorcist is already in manufacturing and Burstyn’s half has been accomplished, right here’s hoping that these elements have been tended to. We count on the filmmakers to have a grand scope for this go round.
A Simple, Straight-Forward Story Should Be Told
It’s encouraging that Green plans to proceed the unique story quite than remake it, with Odom Jr. the dad or mum of a possessed youngster this time. It would successfully be a call-back to what made 1973’s The Exorcist resonate with audiences. The premise bounced round for the reboot is that Odom Jr.’s character is the dad or mum of a possessed youngster and tracks down Burstyn’s character, whose younger daughter (Blair) was possessed by an evil entity referred to as Pazuzu within the first movie.
Staying true to Exorcist mythology and adhering to an easy story that may lure audiences in can be one of the simplest ways to go. Many of the opposite sequels and the twentieth Century Fox tv sequence, The Exorcist, that ran from 2016-2017 obtained too cluttered and convoluted, which made the franchise lose its focus. Likewise for Shrader’s Dominion, which obtained lackluster critiques and a tepid field workplace. An easier strategy to the fabric can be extra more likely to rekindle the franchise’s iconic energy.
The Exorcist Reboot Should Learn from the Latest Halloween Trilogy
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The main inspiration for the Exorcist re-launching is actually Green’s profitable Halloween trilogy that simply wrapped up. Producer Blum instructed Den of Geek:
“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. I want to make a movie for people that know and love the first Exorcist and are furious that we’re doing this, but somehow drag themselves to the theatre. I want them to come out happy.”
The mixing of the long-lasting authentic and modern-day actors and mythology labored wonders on the field workplace for Green earlier than, so the method seems to be set to work its magic for the Exorcist ethos. Unfortunately, the sequence’ first director, William Friedkin, gained’t be concerned with the brand new venture. But Green instructed MovieMaker that he’d nonetheless like to rope him in for a minimum of some assist with the soundtrack, stating:
“If he’s as good as John Carpenter at making music we’ll get him to do a song in the movie. He can do a trombone version of ‘Tubular Bells.’”
With hope, this Exorcist reboot/sequel will conquer what’s been known as the “Exorcist Curse,” rumored to be behind failed sequels, prequels, and spinoffs to the unique movie. With the appropriate ambition and devoted try to do justice to the horror traditional, Green and firm have a combating probability to proper these wrongs.