Mike Flanagan’s radical reimagining of The Exorcist continues building one of the most formidable ensemble casts in recent horror memory. Laurence Fishburne has officially joined the production, reuniting with a roster that includes Scarlett Johansson, Jacobi Jupe, Diane Lane, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
The film, set for theatrical release March 12, 2027, will shoot in New York City and represents an entirely new story within The Exorcist universe. This is not a sequel to 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer, but rather Flanagan’s attempt at what he’s called “something that honors what came before it but isn’t built on nostalgia.”
Huh.
Fishburne brings substantial genre credentials to the project. His work (obviously) spans The Matrix trilogy as Morpheus, Event Horizon‘s haunted spacecraft nightmare, the John Wick franchise’s Continental underworld, recent sci-fi thriller Slingshot, and voice work in Transformers One. Although not all hits, with some dropping direct to DVD/Redbox (RIP), he’s demonstrated range across sci-fi, action-horror hybrids, and psychological thrillers throughout his five-decade career.
The production is a collaboration between Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, Morgan Creek Entertainment, and Flanagan’s Red Room Pictures. Flanagan writes, directs, and produces alongside Jason Blum and David Robinson, with Alexandra Magistro and Ryan Turek executive producing.
Given Flanagan’s track record with The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Doctor Sleep, and the TIFF Audience Award-winning The Life of Chuck, combined with a cast like this, expectations are boiling. The 2027 release remains in the distance, and with Believer having missed the mark, Flanagan has room to pursue his “radical new vision” without the weight of immediate franchise momentum bearing down on him.
Not that he can’t handle the pressure.
