The American actress will play the lead role in an adaptation of William Friedkin’s horror film, released in 1973 and adapted from the eponymous novel by William Peter Blatty.
After playing superheroes for around ten years within the AvengersScarlett Johansson tackles horror. According to information from Variety , the American actress, listed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since 2012, will star in the next installment of the saga The Exorcist which, in 1973, enjoyed notable box office success with $441 million in worldwide receipts and 10 Academy Award nominations.
The direction, writing and production of the feature film were entrusted to the American Mike Flanagan, a veteran of horror cinema (The Mirror, Not a sound, Doctor Sleep, Scare Dares). The filmmaker promises a “radically new rereading” from William Friedkin’s version, around fifty years old and adapted from the eponymous novel by William Peter Blatty.
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Mike Flanagan is delighted that Scarlett Johansson can join the poster of « cet Exorcist ». « “She’s a brilliant actress, whether she’s in a summer blockbuster or a genre film,” he confided to our American colleagues, adding that he was touched by the game “visceral and authentic” of the actress, notably in Marriage Story et Jojo Rabbit which earned him Oscar nominations.
Trailer for The Exorcist: Devotion (2021)
Straighten the saga
The filmmaker especially hopes that his new recruit, who recently helped relaunch the franchise Jurassic Worldwill be able to straighten out the saga, the last parts of which were particularly disappointing. Like The Exorcist: Devotionin 2021, which collected only $136 million at the worldwide box office, while Universal paid more than $400 million to produce and distribute it.
According to initial information provided by Mike Flanagan from Varietythe next The Exorcist will not be a continuation of Devotion. It will be part of the same time frame as the first film from 1973 and could, therefore, tell a revisited story of a certain Chris MacNeil who hires two Catholic priests to exorcise her 12-year-old daughter, possessed by the demon. For now, the release date and the rest of the casting have not been made official. Filming should begin in New York in 2026.