Director David Gordon Green has exited his upcoming Exorcist sequel, The Exorcist: Deceiver, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Green’s exit is attributed to his desire to prioritize other projects, such as Nutcrackers and The Righteous Gemstones. No new director has been named to take his place for future Exorcist projects.
The Universal Pictures and Blumhouse project was set to continue the story started with The Exorcist: Believer. Its release date, which was previously planned to be April 18, 2025, is now off the calendar. Universal is now filling the slot with a global release for its Michael Jackson biopic.
Green’s exit comes just months after The Exorcist: Believer aimed to reboot the classic horror franchise in October. The film struggled to impress fans and critics according to Rotton Tomatoes, and as reported by Box Office Mojo, it was only able to bring in a domestic total of $65.5 million. The worldwide box office total was estimated to be $136.2 million.
They’re lackluster numbers, especially when compared to the whopping $400 million Universal paid for the franchise’s rights in 2021. The hope was to produce a trilogy that could reanimate the series, though Green’s exit and a release date removal mean new roadblocks lie ahead.
We came away from The Exorcist: Believer unimpressed, too, as our review explains, “Double the possession means double the problems for The Exorcist: Believer, which is a serviceable horror movie on its own merits, but a disappointing revival for a cornerstone of horror cinema.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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