©Courtesy of Universal Pictures
On the day before the first trailer was scheduled to debut on Friday, a preview segment from Mike Flanagan‘s “The Exorcist: Martyrs,” featuring Scarlett Johansson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Leguizamo, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, and Sasha Calle, was made available.
Essentially given full creative control, the project rebooted the franchise with “Doctor Sleep” director and “Midnight Mass” creator Flanagan, allowing him to take the series in new directions.
Despite an official synopsis not yet being released, reports suggest the story centers around a single-mother police officer (Johansson), who, thirteen years after dismantling a feared Satanist serial killer known as Father Sunday (Leguizamo), probes a fresh string of killings linked to her past.
At that time, her 12-year-old son becomes the victim of a terrifying demonic presence. Ejiofor will portray a priest affiliated with the inquiry.
Many of Flanagan’s regulars from his limited series works like “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Fall of the House of Usher” are set to co-star, including Rahul Kohli, Carla Gugino, Hamish Linklater, Gil Bellows, John Gallagher Jr., and Benjamin Pajak.
Flanagan has stated his goal is to create the scariest film of his career and something that is both “a first within the franchise” and “honors the previous installments without relying on nostalgia”.
“The Exorcist: Martyrs” will open in cinemas in March next year while Flanagan has his reinvention of “Carrie” hitting Amazon Prime Video tomorrow.