The Exorcist: – Mike Flanagan and Jason Blum are set to revitalize the iconic horror franchise with a 2027 release featuring Scarlett Johansson.
The wait for the next chapter in one of horror’s most enduring sagas officially has an end date. Universal Pictures has slated The Exorcist: Martyrs for a March 12, 2027, release, bringing a new vision to a franchise that first terrified audiences in 1973.
Filmmaker Mike Flanagan and producer Jason Blum have joined forces to steer this installment. For those following the production. the project has already moved into the public eye; lead actors were spotted filming on location in New York City earlier this year. and anticipation is building ahead of a planned preview at New York Comic-Con.
At the center of the story is Scarlett Johansson, who portrays Detective Julie Miller, an NYPD homicide officer. Flanagan, who detailed the character in an October 2026 interview, described Miller as a single mother to a 12-year-old son, Max. The professional demands of the homicide beat. which often require days away from home. mean much of the domestic heavy lifting falls on Julie’s mother. Mary.
The narrative bridges Miller’s past and a haunting present. More than a decade after taking down a satanic serial killer. the detective finds herself pulled back into the darkness as a string of new murders mirrors the cases that once defined her career. As she tracks the killer, her son, Max, becomes the focus of an encroaching demonic force.
Flanagan aims to use the platform to explore the “problem of evil” and the limits of human nature. The film seeks to examine the terrifying gap between the things people label as inhuman and the reality that such atrocities are conceived and committed by human beings.
The ensemble cast is rounded out by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Diane Lane, Jacobi Jupe, Laurence Fishburne, Sasha Calle, and Kate Siegel. With a teaser trailer already hinting at a production that may prove to be the most intense of Flanagan’s career. the horror genre is bracing for a significant. and long-awaited. expansion.
The Exorcist: Martyrs Mike Flanagan Scarlett Johansson Chiwetel Ejiofor horror movies 2027 movies