Mike Flanagan is a busy man. Just this week, his TV series remake of Stephen King‘s horror classic, Carrie, premiered on Prime Video. Clayface, the body-horror movie inspired by the DC Comics character, for which he cowrote the script, hits theaters on Oct. 23.
Now, he’s onto promoting his next completed project, The Exorcist: Martyrs, a film he called “the scariest movie I’ve ever made,” while at Friday’s Blumhouse panel at New York Comic Con.
If you’ve been keeping track, Flanagan’s name has been attached to the iconic horror franchise, which began in 1973 and is based on the William Peter Blatty novel of the same name. Since Linda Blair terrified audiences as the demon-possessed young girl, Regan MacNeil, the movie series expanded. There have been sequels, a prequel and even a short-lived TV show.
In 2023, David Gordon Green attempted to reboot the franchise with The Exorcist: The Believer. Now, it’s Flanagan’s turn.
The Exorcist: Martyrs gives a new spin on the Exorcist canon and injects a Minderhunter-style serial killer narrative element into the mix. If you watched the TV series I mentioned above, you’ll notice a similar procedural vibe in the brand-new trailer that dropped during the panel. And if you’re an Exorcist III stan, I’m sure you’ll be happy with the just released clip, as it’s got that similar brooding feeling here.
The Exorcist: Martyrs stars Scarlett Johansson as an NYPD detective tracking a serial killer named Father Sunday (John Leguizamo), who uses Catholic iconography in his kills. Chiwetel Ejiofor, fresh out of The Backrooms, also stars in the film, opposite Laurence Fishburne, Sasha Calle and Jacobi Jupe.
If you’ve been yearning for the Mike Flanagan era of Oculus and The Haunting of Hill House, The Exorcist: Martyrs feels like the filmmaker is back in his terrifying groove. While I’m still waiting for his adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to see the light of day, this will have to do.
The Exorcist: Martyrs premieres in theaters on Friday, March 12, 2027.
Aaron is a writer for the streaming entertainment team. Previously, he wrote about TV and movies for places like Rotten Tomatoes, Inverse, TheWrap, Washington Post and The Hollywood Reporter. Aaron is also an actor and played a nerd on TV a lot in the '90s. Seriously. See full bio
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