Mike Flanagan Teases His New Exorcist Movie: "This Should Be Really Scary"

While it's still early days, writer-director Mike Flanagan recently offered up a light tease on his upcoming Exorcist movie for Universal Pictures, Blumhouse, and Morgan Creek Entertainment.

Described as a "radical new" vision for the franchise, the currently-untitled project will not connect to David Gordon Green's The Exorcist: Believer (now available to own from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment). Appearing at the ATX TV Festival in Austin last week, the filmmaker behind such acclaimed titles as The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep stated that his take on the 50-year-old franchise will not indulge his personal penchant for writing and shooting monologues.

Director Mike Flanagan Discusses New The Exorcist Movie

“The ritual itself is something of a monologue, but we’ve seen that," he explained (via Tell-Tale TV). "They were concerned, and I understand why. They said, ‘Well, it’s just, this is big. It’s theatrical. So it just isn’t really where you want to be doing long monologues about religion and faith.'”

Flanagan continued: “This should be really scary, and that means the character work is still on me to make them real, relatable, and emotionally relevant. But this isn’t the project or where we should be monologuing. I said I completely agree with you, and if it makes you feel any better, I made that show. I already got it out of my system."

For More on The Exorcist Franchise:
One Song, Five Alarms: The Exorcist's Theme Song "Tubular Bells" Still Holds Up 50 Years Later
Who Is Lamashtu? The Exorcist: Believer's New Demon Explained
Exorcist Star Linda Blair On the Difference Between William Friedkin and David Gordon Green

Linda Blair on the set of The Exorcist (1973); Director Mike Flanagan arrives at the screening of Relativity Media's "Oculus" at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on April 3, 2014 in Hollywood, California. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images; Mike Windle/Getty Images

In addition to writing and directing, Flanagan will also produce the feature alongside his usual collaborator, Trevor Macy. 

“The Exorcist is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker, and it is an honor to have the chance to try something fresh, bold, and terrifying within its universe," the director said in a statement when the news broke last week. "Reuniting with my friends at Blumhouse, with whom I’ve made some of my favorite pieces of work, only makes this more exciting."

This is his fourth team-up with Blumhouse after Oculus (2013), Hush (2016) and Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016).