David Gordon Green is opening up about his scrapped sequels to The Exorcist: Believer.
The Exorcist: Believer was released in United States theaters in October 2023. Directed by Green, the film was supposed to kickstart a new trilogy of Exorcist movies; however, the films were canceled after The Exorcist: Believer was received poorly by fans and critics.
Midnight Mass’ Mike Flanagan has now been tapped to direct the next film in The Exorcist franchise, which will serve as a reboot rather than a continuation of Believer.
Speaking to IndieWire, Green, who is now directing a comedy-drama movie starring Ben Stiller called Nutcrackers, was asked what his scrapped Exorcist sequels would have looked like.
What did David Gordon Green say about the scrapped Exorcist: Believer sequels?
“Oh, man. That’s a long answer. It’s complicated. It’s long and complicated. We had our next one written and had it mapped out for the third one. Again, it was ambitious, complicated. We were going to Europe for some pretty extraordinary backdrops. It was one of those things where all of the creative parties got together.
“What I’m pitching, in terms of my professional ambition is, I need the creative freedom and give me the budgetary constraints so I can keep control of that. That’s something we learned pretty quickly, [with] expectations that are limitless and really daunting. So, for me to keep that creative freedom and be able to make the choices I wanted to make… As you see with the “Halloween” movies, the choices I make aren’t always the most popular ones. So it’s trying to make something that me, and my great friends at Blumhouse and Morgan Creek, want [for] that property to be fulfilled, as much as the audience is there and has the appetite for it. I don’t think they were on the journey I was excited about taking.”
Green also said that the sequels would have followed Ann Dowd’s character. It’s unclear if any other cast members from Believer would have returned.
The Exorcist: Believer is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Flanagan’s Exorcist movie is currently dated for March 13, 2026.
