The first trailer for The Exorcist: Martyrs has arrived, with Scarlett Johansson as a New York detective in a reboot written and directed by Mike Flanagan. It is Universal’s second attempt to revive a franchise it paid $400 million for. The film opens on March 12, 2027.
The first teaser trailer for The Exorcist: Martyrs has been released, The Hollywood Reporter reported on October 9.
The film is written and directed by Mike Flanagan and stars Scarlett Johansson. It will be released in cinemas on March 12, 2027.
The Story and Cast
The studio describes the film as “a radical new vision of the most terrifying title in the history of cinematic horror”.
- Scarlett Johansson plays Julie Miller, an NYPD homicide detective
- John Leguizamo plays a murderer known as Father Sunday
- Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a priest
- Jacobi Jupe plays Miller’s 12-year-old son, who is threatened by a new series of killings
The Director
Flanagan is a prolific horror writer and director. He has adapted several Stephen King stories, including Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep and Carrie.
He also made the Netflix limited series Midnight Mass and The Fall of the House of Usher.
A $400 Million Bet
The film is Universal’s attempt to rescue an expensive investment.
In 2021, the studio paid $400 million for the rights to the franchise, in a deal that included the budgets for three planned films. The model was David Gordon Green’s successful revival of Halloween.
It did not go to plan:
- 2023: Green’s The Exorcist: Believer, which brought back original star Ellen Burstyn, made only $137 million worldwide and was poorly reviewed
- 2024: the announced second film, The Exorcist: Deceiver, was scrapped
Universal then turned to Flanagan to, in the Hollywood Reporter’s words, “reboot the reboot”.
The Original
The franchise began with William Friedkin’s 1973 film The Exorcist, a blockbuster in its day.
Where the Trailer Was Shown
The teaser was also shown on Friday at BlumFest, the Blumhouse studio’s presentation at New York Comic Con, where Flanagan and Ejiofor were among those on stage.
Image: Scarlett Johansson in May 2025 (file photo). Photo by YantsImages via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
