Blumhouse Productions’ The Exorcist 2 is expected to hit theaters in 2023. Released in 1973, The Exorcist was an immediate sensation among film audiences. It became an instant classic and earned 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. The film spawned four sequels that were released from 1977 to 2005 and now, following a new Hollywood trend, those sequels are being ignored in favor of a direct sequel to the original film.
Producer Jason Blum and his production company Blumhouse teamed up with Universal Pictures to successfully bring back the Halloween franchise by ignoring all the films in the series except the original from 1978. Released in 2018, Halloween earned favorable reviews from critics and audiences alike and went on to gross $255.6 million at the worldwide box office. Universal Pictures has two sequels set, Halloween Kills, which is set to open on October 15, 2021, and a third film, Halloween Ends, on October 14, 2022.
According to The New York Times, the Blumhouse sequel to The Exorcist is set for a 2023 release date. The film will be directed by David Gordon Green (Halloween) and will see Ellen Burstyn reprise her role as Chris MacNeil from the first film. Leslie Odom Jr. will also join the cast. The film will be distributed by Universal Pictures, which hopes to launch a new trilogy of films similar to their Halloween revival.
With David Gordon Green set to direct, the 2023 release date seems reasonable. While Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends are set to open in 2021 and 2022, they were filmed back-to-back in 2019 and have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Green can now put the finishing touches on his Halloween sequels while prepping work for The Exorcist 2. Green recently confirmed the script is already complete and now with casting underway, the film could begin production in 2022 in time for a 2023 release.
The exact opening date for the film is still unknown. Given that Universal Pictures is hoping that Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends repeat the big business Halloween did during October 2018, it makes a certain amount of sense that they will see The Exorcist 2 as filling in a big horror film slot in the 2023 release calendar. Plus, October 13, 2023, also happens to be Friday the 13th, popularly viewed as a superstitious day. Releasing a sequel to one of the most iconic horror movies around the month of Halloween on Friday the 13th seems like too good an opportunity for Universal Pictures to pass up. It also allows Universal to tie the film in with their Halloween Horror Nights theme park experience and could elevate The Excorcist 2 to become one of the big event films of 2023.
