Fox has just cast the dynamic, parochial duo that will be tasked with expelling the spirit of failure that’s bedeviled so many projects (aside from the original movie, of course) based on William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist. Alfonso Herrera (Sense8) and Ben Daniels (Flesh And Bone) will be donning cassocks in hellish circumstances for the series, which got a pilot order back in January.
Daniels will play Father Marcus Lang, “the intense holy warrior” whose occupation as an exorcist is one “the church no longer acknowledges in public,” which is a shame, because being endorsed for his exorcising skills would probably do wonders for Father Marcus’ LinkedIn profile. The weary priest will team up with Herrera’s Father Tomas Ortega, a “warm, selfless and compassionate” priest of a small but devout congregation.
The priests will confront the face of evil, which has taken the form of a former ballet dancer named Charlotte, who will be played by Scream Queens’ Brianne Howey. The series is being written by Fantastic Four scribe Jeremy Slater—that ominous credit aside, the pilot is in the hands of Rupert Wyatt, who did a solid job directing The Gambler remake. And Wyatt’s already proven he can effectively reboot a franchise with Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, which featured the demonic entity otherwise known as James Franco.