Mike Flanagan details his decision to tackle “The Exorcist” with an upcoming reboot that will hopefully revitalize the legendary franchise…
Mike Flanagan knows a thing or two about tackling seemingly impossible projects.
Take for instance his decision to write and direct “Doctor Sleep” — a direct sequel to Stephen King’s iconic novel “The Shining,” which was also transformed into a legendary film by Stanley Kubrick (a movie that King actually hates).
It was a bold move but one that paid off with King actually praising Flanagan’s take on his source material and the two creators have continued to team up with additional projects including the upcoming film “The Life of Chuck” as well as “The Dark Tower” series being developed at Amazon.
Recently, Flanagan also signed onto to reboot “The Exorcist” franchise with a new film that serve as its own movie completely separate from David Gordon Green’s attempted sequel “The Exorcist: Believer,” which failed to impress critics or audiences after being released in 2023. The shortcomings of that film essentially nixed plans for a trilogy set in “The Exorcist” universe but then Flanagan was hired with a promise that he was going to deliver “a radical new take” with his film.
So why exactly did he take on such a daunting challenge?
“We aren’t making this easy on ourselves,” Flanagan told The Hollywood Reporter. “But I’ve always felt that there’s no point in going into a franchise or into a property that monolithic unless there’s something new you can bring. I chased The Exorcist very aggressively because I was convinced I had something that I could add. This is an opportunity to do something that I believe has never been done within the franchise — something that honors what came before it but isn’t built on nostalgia.
“I really just saw an opportunity to make the scariest movie I’ve ever made. I know expectations are high. No one’s more intimidated than I am.”
Flanagan is one of the most popular directors working in horror today so it’s safe to assume that he wouldn’t get involved with “The Exorcist” unless he had a truly unique and terrifying take.
Considering the past adaptations he’s made with TV series for Netflix such as “The Haunting of Hill House” and “The Midnight Club,” not to mention all the collaborations with King, Flanagan knows what he’s doing.
Not much else has been revealed about Flanagan’s plan for his version of “The Exorcist” but he’s likely going to start tackling that project sometime in 2025.
Up next is Flanagan’s foray into non-horror films with “The Life of Chuck,” which was a short story written by King but much like “The Shawshank Redemption” or “The Green Mile,” this one is more about drama than terrifying the audience.
