Scarlett Johansson leads Mike Flanagan’s new Exorcist film, out March 2027
The Exorcist: Martyrs got its first trailer at New York Comic Con, with Johansson as a homicide detective, and a theatrical release set for March 12, 2027.
By
Josh Whitaker
Universal’s new horror film The Exorcist: Martyrs got its first trailer at New York City Comic Con, where director Mike Flanagan and actor Chiwetel Ejiofor presented it, with a theatrical release set for March 12, 2027.
In brief
- According to Variety , Scarlett Johansson stars as a homicide detective who gradually realizes she is not chasing an ordinary serial killer.
- He added that the team agreed on one point from the start: “It had to just be goddamn scary, like to your bones scary.”
- The original, directed by William Friedkin and released in 1973, followed a mother who hires Catholic priests to exorcise her 12-year-old daughter, played by Linda Blair.
A detective, a priest and murders inside a church
According to Variety, Scarlett Johansson stars as a homicide detective who gradually realizes she is not chasing an ordinary serial killer. The footage shows a series of gruesome killings carried out in a church. They push her to ask whether earlier killers, who claimed they were possessed by Satan, might have been telling the truth.
The Hollywood Reporter adds detail on the characters. Johansson’s character is Julie Miller, an NYPD homicide detective. Her case brings together a killer known as Father Sunday, played by John Leguizamo, a priest played by Ejiofor, and a fresh wave of murders that put her twelve-year-old son, played by Jacobi Jupe, in danger. The studio sells the film as a bold reimagining of the franchise, and the first teaser trailer is the footage now circulating.
Flanagan, who is director, writer and producer, set the tone at the panel. “This movie is unlike any other ‘Exorcist’ movie that’s ever been made, which was something that we were really determined to do from the very beginning, to take this franchise in a completely different direction,” he said. He added that the team agreed on one point from the start: “It had to just be goddamn scary, like to your bones scary.”
Before showing the footage, Flanagan teased that this is the scariest project he has made in his career, Variety adds, and he stressed that the cast and crew all agreed from the outset on the goal of real fear.
The release date has moved. Variety reports the film was first set to open this March, then pushed to 2027 after production was delayed.
Who is making it
| Role | Details |
|---|---|
| Scarlett Johansson | Julie Miller, NYPD homicide detective |
| John Leguizamo | Father Sunday |
| Chiwetel Ejiofor | A priest |
| Jacobi Jupe | The detective’s young son |
| Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane | Also in the cast |
| Blumhouse-Atomic Monster and Morgan Creek Entertainment | Production companies, working with Flanagan’s own banner, Red Room Pictures |
| Trevor Macy | Producer, back for Intrepid Pictures |
This is Flanagan’s fourth project with Blumhouse, after Oculus (2013), Hush (2016) and Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016). His résumé also includes the Stephen King adaptations Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep, plus the Netflix limited series Midnight Mass and The Fall of the House of Usher. In 2024 he said that The Exorcist is one of the reasons he became a filmmaker, calling the chance to try something “fresh, bold and terrifying” within its universe an honor.
Why this is a clean break from the 2023 film
Universal’s 2021 purchase was meant to launch a new trilogy. David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer arrived in 2023 with Ellen Burstyn returning, but it drew poor reviews. The Hollywood Reporter notes that the planned follow-up, The Exorcist: Deceiver, was scrapped in 2024.
Flanagan’s film does not continue that story. According to Variety, it is not a follow-up to the 2023 movie. The original, directed by William Friedkin and released in 1973, followed a mother who hires Catholic priests to exorcise her 12-year-old daughter, played by Linda Blair.
Featured image. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Credit: Acabashi. License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
