Mike Flanagan will be the next to try and make a decent Exorcist sequel

Less than a year after audiences and critics spit pea soup all over The Exorcist: Believer, Blumhouse is baptizing the whole property with fresh holy water. Netflix miniseries-maker Mike Flanagan is taking over the next Exorcist sequel as Blumhouse retools the beleaguered franchise that only produced one good sequel in 50 years. Promising a “radical new take” on the series for the second time in less than five years, Blumhouse will attempt to make good on the $400 million Universal spent to buy the rights to the property. Following the dismal returns of Believer, director David Gordon Green exited the sequel, entitled [sigh] Exorcist: Deciever—let’s hope they ditch the rhyming subtitles before we get to Exorcist: Belieber. This is all fine because Green is doing some of his best work on television and some of his worst in horror movies.

For his part, Flanagan is using the opportunity to “try something fresh, bold, and terrifying.” He also ensured everyone knew, “The Exorcist is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker,” which should appeal to hardcore Pazuzu-heads, even though he didn’t say he was making this one for the fans and not the critics. This wouldn’t be Flanagan’s first time in the Blumhouse. Previously, he directed Oculus, Hush, and Ouija: Origin Of Evil for the studio, and seeing as not making another Exorcist movie isn’t an avenue Universal is interested in exploring, it makes sense that they would hire Flanagan. Not only is he one of the most popular horror filmmakers working, but also he somehow made a movie called Ouija: Origin Of Evil, and it didn’t suck. In fact, it was pretty good, which speaks to his abilities.