'The Exorcist' Rights Sell for a Head-Turning $400 Million

We've known that David Gordon Green and Blumhouse were taking on a new Exorcist trilogy after wrapping his Halloween trilogy, but now a new report from the New York Times confirms the original Exorcist star Ellen Burstyn is coming back for the films. 

In even bigger news than that, Universal Pictures and Peacock closed a $400 million-plus deal to buy the rights to the new trilogy. This is a massive amount of money for a horror remake. Even considering you're getting three films. 

Green told Total Film magazine that he spent his pandemic writing the first of the Exorcist movies and that it would be a direct sequel to the Friedkin classic. 

"I like all the Exorcist movies... And not only do I like them, I think they can all fall into the acceptable mythology for what I’m doing," he said. "It’s not like I’m saying, ‘Pretend that The Exorcist 2 never happened.’ That’s fine to exist. They’re all fine to exist, and I enjoy all of them.”

Green went on to say, “It’s another fun legacy to be a part of, and hopefully, we’ll get that going in the near future. That one is a lot of research, rather than just impulsive screenwriting. That’s one that you talk to a lot of people. You read a lot of books, and do a shit-load of interviews. There was such a dramatic authenticity to what that original film is. It’s a lot more than I anticipated getting into it. And I guess I was naïve to think that. But it was very exhilarating to be involved in a lot of those conversations that you find yourself in.”

So what will the movie be about? 

Well, according to the New York Times, Burstyn will reprise her role as Chris MacNeil. She gets tracked down by a father who thinks his child is possessed, played by Leslie Odom Jr. The Times reports that the film "is expected to arrive in theaters in late 2023. Under the terms of the deal, the second and third films could debut on Peacock, according to one of the people briefed on the matter.”

We've seen horror make tons of money at the box office, so it'll be interesting to see how the first film does at the box office and whether or not it makes sense to cash in on ticket sales before it hits the platform. Still, companies need their streamers to do well. So it would not be a surprise to see them go day-and-date or find some sort of way to have the movie in theaters and on the platform so they can draw eyeballs. We'll just have to see.

Are you excited about a new Exorcist trilogy? Let us know in the comments.