Summary
- Filmmaker David Gordon Green has exited The Exorcist: Deceiver to focus on other projects.
- Universal Pictures bought the rights to The Exorcist franchise for $400 million, hoping to replicate the success of Halloween.
- The Exorcist: Believer had a mediocre box office performance and received negative reviews, raising doubts about the worth of the rights purchase.
Universal Pictures has to find a new director to go one-on-one with the devil, as filmmaker David Gordon Green has exited The Exorcist: Deceiver, the planned sequel to The Exorcist: Believer.
Per Deadline, Green has exited the project to focus on his new Ben Stiller movie, Nutcrackers, as well as the upcoming fourth season of HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones. As a search begins for a new director, Universal has now pulled the film from its planned release date of April 18, 2025. In its place, the Lionsgate Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, will now take the date as Universal is overseeing that film’s international distribution. For now, The Exorcist: Deceiver does not have a release date.
Universal and Blumhouse paid big bucks for the rights to The Exorcist
Universal and Blumhouse purchased the rights to The Exorcist franchise from Morgan Creek back in July 2021 for a staggering $400 million. The plan was to start a brand-new trilogy and hopefully duplicate the success they had with obtaining Halloween, which grossed nearly $500 million globally across three films under the direction of Green. The deal with Universal also included rights to leverage the IP across theme parks/Halloween Horror Nights, branding, and a buyout of talent and rights backends.
Related 10 Movies to Watch if You Loved The Exorcist: Believer The Exorcist: Believer wasn’t exactly a horror fan favorite. But for those who loved it, here are 10 other films that’ll help you stay in that mood.
Unfortunately for Universal, The Exorcist: Believer was no Halloween when it was released last October. The film opened to $26.4 million (keep in mind Halloween 2018 did $33.3 million on its first day) and eventually grossed $65.5 million domestically and $136.2 million worldwide. These aren’t bad figures for a film that cost $30 million to make, but the studio likely expected more, and it remains to be seen if the $400 million they spent on the rights will be worth it. They’ll have to wait and see how the next two films do at the box office before making that assessment.
In addition to so-so box office, reviews for The Exorcist: Believer were dismal, posting a 22 percent rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a consensus that reads, “The Exorcist: Believer earns points for trying to take the franchise back to its terrifying roots, but a lack of new ideas, and scares, make this an inauspicious start to a planned new trilogy.” The audience score was also low at 44 percent, while opening day audiences gave the film a “C” CinemaScore, indicating poor word of mouth. After the film’s poor reception, reports emerged that indicated there might be some creative rethinking behind the scenes and, at the time, even Green expressed doubts about participating in the next film as director.
The Exorcist: Believer can currently be streamed on Peacock.
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