No risk, no reward.
The first of a trio of planned sequels to the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist has wrapped production for its scheduled Oct. 13 theatrical release, and producer Jason Blum recently had a very interesting opinion of the project.
The follow-up film–from Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures and Peacock–is “the riskiest movie I have ever made,” Blum told Indiewire. “Just because it’s so expensive. Usually, the bar to success on what we do–because it’s inexpensive–is incredibly low. For The Exorcist, it’s high.”
Blum explained, though, that it’s “not high risk for Blumhouse, but it’s high risk for our partners. It’s a high risk for Universal.” The overall deal for the three new films reportedly is in the $400-million range.
The first sequel–directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay he wrote with Scott Teems, Danny McBride and Peter Sattler–will follow a father (Leslie Odom Jr.) of a possessed child who tracks down Chris MacNeil (the returning Ellen Burstyn) for help.
The cast also includes Linda Blair (reprising her iconic Regan MacNeil role), Ann Dowd, Olivia Marcum, Lidya Jewett, Raphael Sbarge, Jennifer Nettles and Okwui Okpokwasili.
In describing The Exorcist horror franchise, Green said he not only likes all the films, “but I think they can all fall into the acceptable mythology for what I’m doing. They’re all fine to exist, and I enjoy all of them.”
Keep reading Horror News Network for the latest on these sequels to The Exorcist.
