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The Exorcist: Martyrs

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The Exorcist: Martyrs
Directed byMike Flanagan
Written byMike Flanagan
Based on
Characters
by William Peter Blatty
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMichael Fimognari
Edited byMike Flanagan
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • March 12, 2027 (2027-03-12)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Exorcist: Martyrs is an upcoming American supernatural horror film written and directed by Mike Flanagan. It is the seventh film in The Exorcist franchise. Jason Blum serves as a producer through his Blumhouse–Atomic Monster banner, David Robinson through his Morgan Creek Entertainment studio, and Flanagan through Red Room Pictures. It stars Scarlett Johansson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jacobi Jupe, Sasha Calle, Hamish Linklater, Carl Lumbly, John Gallagher Jr., Benjamin Pajak, Carla Gugino, John Leguizamo, Diane Lane, and Laurence Fishburne.

Prior to the project's announcement, a sequel was planned for The Exorcist: Believer (2023) entitled The Exorcist: Deceiver, with David Gordon Green originally set to return as director, but he left the project following the critical and commercial failure of Believer. In May 2024, Deceiver and its sequel were officially canceled when the new film was announced, with Flanagan writing, producing, and directing the film. After two release delays, casting took place throughout November 2025 to March 2026, when principal photography began in New York City, and wrapped in June.

The film is scheduled to be released by Universal Pictures on March 12, 2027.

Premise

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A single-mother cop who, 13 years after taking down a notorious satanic serial killer, investigates a new series of murders connected to her past while her 12-year-old son becomes the target of a terrifying demonic force.[1]

— Comic Book Movie

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Initial work as Deceiver

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In July 2021, two sequels to The Exorcist: Believer (2023) were confirmed to be in development with the same creative team of David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Peter Sattler, and Scott Teems on board.[2][3][4] Two years later, Universal Pictures announced that the first sequel would be titled The Exorcist: Deceiver.[5] After the poor reception of Believer, sources from The Hollywood Reporter claimed there would almost certainly be some degree of creative re-think for the next two films and that Green recently expressed some doubt about his participation.[6] In January 2024, Green stepped down from Deceiver and the film was removed from the release schedule shortly after.[7]

New work as Martyrs

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Mike Flanagan was in early talks to helm the project, until he was hired as the film's writer, producer, and director in April 2024.

In May 2024, it was announced that Mike Flanagan was in talks to write, produce and direct the next The Exorcist film.[8] Later that month, Flanagan was confirmed to be doing so for a new Exorcist film to be made as a "new radical take" with plans for Deceiver and its sequel being scrapped following Believer's critical and commercial failure.[9][10][11] While promoting The Life of Chuck (2024) months later, Flanagan described that he was only going into the franchise due to feeling there was something new he could bring to it, noting he had been "very aggressively" chasing the job due to being convinced he had something to add, seeing an opportunity to do something that had never been done within the series, honoring what had come before but without building it on nostalgia. He thus saw a chance to make the scariest film he had ever made despite knowing how high the expectations would be and no one but him being more intimidated with such prospect.[10] As a result, Flanagan was unavailable to direct the DC Universe (DCU) film Clayface (2026) he had written for DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, leading them to hire James Watkins to direct the film due to Flanagan's commitments to his The Exorcist film.[12][13]

In June 2025, Flanagan revealed in a Tumblr post that the film was not going to begin production until after he finished work on the 2026 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's novel Carrie (1974) for Amazon Prime Video and that there was "no way it's coming out next March".[14][15] In November 2025, Scarlett Johansson joined the film in the lead role, as well as Atomic Monster joining the production team.[16] In December 2025, Jeff Sneider reported that Johansson's commitments to the film had been adjusted to accommodate the schedule of The Batman: Part II (2028), for which she had entered negotiations to discuss an undisclosed role she was "aggressively" pursuing.[17] That same month, Jacobi Jupe joined the cast.[18] In January 2026, Diane Lane joined the cast.[19] The following month, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Laurence Fishburne joined the cast,[20][21] with sources indicating Ejiofor would play an "ex-con turned priest" whereas Johansson would play the mother of Jupe's character.[22] In March 2026, Sasha Calle and John Leguizamo were added to the cast,[23][24] alongside Rahul Kohli, Hamish Linklater, Gil Bellows, Carl Lumbly, John Gallagher Jr., Benjamin Pajak, Carla Gugino, Robert Longstreet, Matt Biedel, Samantha Sloyan and Kate Siegel, all eleven frequent collaborators of Flanagan.[25] In June 2026, the official Red Room Pictures website revealed the film's title as The Exorcist: Martyrs.[26]

Filming

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Principal photography began in New York City on March 13, 2026, with Michael Fimognari serving as the cinematographer.[27] Filming wrapped on June 9, 2026.[28]

Release

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The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on March 12, 2027, by Universal Pictures.[29] It was previously scheduled to be released on April 18, 2025,[5] and March 13, 2026,[30] before being removed from Universal's release schedule in June 2025.[15]

References

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  1. ↑ Cassidy, Mark (September 12, 2026). "The Exorcist: Martyrs - First Synopsis And Character Details For Mike Flanagan's Horror Reboot Revealed". Comic Book Movie. Retrieved September 14, 2026.
  2. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (July 26, 2021). "The Exorcist: David Gordon Green to Direct New Trilogy Starring Leslie Odom Jr. and Ellen Burstyn". Collider. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  3. ↑ Lawrence, Gregory (October 13, 2021). "David Gordon Green on Why His Exorcist Trilogy Is an "Entirely Different Writing Process" Than Halloween". Collider. Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  4. ↑ Squires, John (October 14, 2021). "David Gordon Green is Planning on Directing All Three Films in Brand New The Exorcist Trilogy". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Grobar, Matt (July 25, 2023). "Universal Unveils Trailer For First New Exorcist Film Believer, Dates Second Chapter Deceiver". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  6. ↑ Hibberd, James (October 10, 2023). "Exorcist: Believer Backlash: Franchise Will Live, But Sequel Changes Likely". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (January 11, 2024). "David Gordon Green Departing 2025 'Exorcist' Sequel, Search Underway for New Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  8. ↑ Grobar, Matt (May 2, 2024). "Mike Flanagan In Talks To Direct Next 'Exorcist' Movie For Blumhouse, Universal". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  9. ↑ Couch, Aaron (May 29, 2024). "Next 'Exorcist' Movie Shifts Gears With Mike Flanagan Set to Direct a New Take". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  10. 1 2 O'Connell, Mikey (September 5, 2024). "You Can't Scare Mike Flanagan. Can You?". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 6, 2026. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  11. ↑ Ryan, Mike (September 5, 2024). "With 'The Exorcist,' David Gordon Green Was Losing His Creative Freedom — 'Nutcrackers' Gave It Back". IndieWire. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  12. ↑ B. Vary, Adam (December 11, 2024). "'Clayface' Movie Officially Underway at DC Studios With Mike Flanagan Writing". Variety. Archived from the original on December 12, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  13. ↑ Kit, Borys; Couch, Aaron (February 21, 2025). "DC's 'Clayface' Lands 'Speak No Evil' Director James Watkins (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Post by @flanaganfilm". Tumblr. Archived from the original on February 15, 2026. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  15. 1 2 Gajewski, Ryan (June 4, 2025). "Mike Flanagan Says There's "No Way" His 'Exorcist' Movie Will Make Its Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  16. ↑ Kroll, Justin (November 24, 2025). "Scarlett Johansson To Star In New 'Exorcist' Movie From Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, Morgan Creek And Universal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  17. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (December 4, 2025). "Inside Scarlett Johansson's Casting in The Batman Part II, Including Which Oscar Winner Passed on the Role". The InSneider. Retrieved December 4, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. ↑ Kit, Borys (December 16, 2025). "'Hamnet' Star Jacobi Jupe Joins Scarlett Johansson in New 'Exorcist' Horror Movie for Blumhouse, Universal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  19. ↑ Grobar, Matt (January 27, 2026). "Diane Lane Joins Mike Flanagan's 'The Exorcist'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 22, 2026. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
  20. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 4, 2026). "Chiwetel Ejiofor Reteams With Mike Flanagan For 'The Exorcist'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  21. ↑ Donnelly, Matt (February 5, 2026). "Laurence Fishburne Joins Scarlett Johansson in 'The Exorcist' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on February 12, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  22. ↑ Kit, Borys (February 4, 2026). "Chiwetel Ejiofor Joins Scarlett Johansson in New 'Exorcist' Horror Movie for Blumhouse, Universal". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 22, 2026. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  23. ↑ Grobar, Matt (March 2, 2026). "Sasha Calle Latest To Join Mike Flanagan's 'The Exorcist'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 8, 2026. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  24. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 4, 2026). "John Leguizamo Joins Scarlett Johansson in New 'The Exorcist' Horror Movie for Blumhouse, Universal (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  25. ↑ Grobar, Matt (March 5, 2026). "Mike Flanagan Adds 11 Frequent Collaborators To New 'Exorcist Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 10, 2026. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Projects". Red Room Pictures. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
  27. ↑ DiVincenzo, Alex (March 13, 2026). "Mike Flanagan's 'The Exorcist' Is Now Filming". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  28. ↑ Navarro, Meagan (June 10, 2026). "Mike Flanagan's 'The Exorcist' Has Wrapped Production". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  29. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (January 17, 2026). "Mike Flanagan's 'The Exorcist' Movie Starring Scarlett Johansson Back On Schedule For 2027". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  30. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (June 18, 2024). "Mike Flanagan's Reimagined 'Exorcist' Film to Hit Theaters in March 2026". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 18, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
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