Blumhouse Pictures CEO Jason Blumhouse revealed why The Exorcist: Deceiver was removed from the studio's release schedule.
In January, The Hollywood Reporter revealed director David Gordan Green had left the in-development sequel to The Exorcist: Believer, titled The Exorcist: Deceiver.
Deceiver, which was set to debut in April 2025, was then completely removed from the release calendar of Universal Pictures, the distributor that bet big on the Exorcist by purchasing the franchise's worldwide rights for a whopping $400 million in 2021 and planning a trilogy with Green.
Believer grossed $137 million globally (notably less than the studio had hoped) and received poor reception (a 22% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes), causing Universal and Blumhouse productions to rethink its ambitious Exorcist hopes.
Is The Exorcist: Deceiver Still Happening?
While speaking with The Direct’s Russ Milheim on the red carpet premiere for Blumhouse’s latest horror flick, Imaginary, CEO Jason Blum revealed the studio and Universal removed The Exorcist: Deceiver from their release calendar to allow them enough time to develop it.
Blum also confirmed that another Exorcist movie will "definitely" get made:
"We are definitely going to make another Exorcist movie, but I wanted more time to figure out what it would be. I have no idea what it's going to be yet."
What Can Fans Expect Next for the Exorcist Franchise?
Given how poorly The Exorcist: Believer was received, it wouldn't be surprising if Blumhouse Pictures is looking to distance itself from the recent film as much as possible. So it's likely that Deceiver won't be the sequel everyone expected.
As such, there's a good chance audiences won't see characters like Leslie Odom Jr.'s Victor Fielding or Lidya Jewett's Angela Fielding anytime soon.
What the franchise's story should do, however, is finally bring the story back around to Linda Blair's Regan, who made a brief appearance alongside Ellen Burstyn's Chris MacNeil at the end of Believer.
Many fans would love to see the terrifying demonic entity in the next installment. While fans got brief glimpses of the monster in Believer, it never did get its full reveal.
[ Full Cast of The Exorcist Believer: Every Actor & Character In 2023 Movie ]
The Exorcist: Believer is now streaming on Peacock, and the upcoming sequel is without a release window.
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