There have been many opportunities for Ellen Burstyn to revisit the Exorcist franchise in years past, but it wasn’t until she heard about what director David Gordon Green had in store for the next movie that she finally got back on board. Back in 1973, Burstyn appeared in a leading role as Chris MacNeil in the widely-celebrated horror film The Exorcist. The hit film spawned several sequels and a TV series adaptation, but Burstyn had never revisited the franchise, not even for a special cameo appearance.
It has since been reported that a new legacy sequel to The Exorcist is in development at Blumhouse and that In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Burstyn opens up on her surprise return to the series after five decades. The legendary actress admits that she initially turned down the new film until another offer came in that was much harder to refuse. Even so, it wasn’t so much the money as it was the opportunity to help out rising actors that had gotten her interest, and once that was worked out, Burstyn was happy to sign on.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Ellen Burstyn Has Reshoots for The Exorcist in November
Ellen Burstyn also praised the film’s director and mentioned how she has more shooting to do in November. It will still be a bit of a wait for fans to see the movie, however, as Burstyn also notes how the new Exorcist sequel will be coming out in 2024; it had previously been reported that the movie would be out in 2023.
Gordon directs the film using a screenplay co-written with Peter Sattler with a story by Green, Sattler, Danny McBride, and Scott Teems. The film is based on the original novel by William Peter Blatty and the first feature film adaptation from director William Friedkin. along with Burstyn, the new film also stars Leslie Odom Jr. and Ann Dowd.
