Ellen Burstyn’s Future In Exorcist: Believer Sequels Gets A Cautious Response From Director

The director of The Exorcist: Believer has discussed the potential for star Ellen Burstyn to return in the next installments of the intended horror trilogy. Burstyn, who played distressed mother Chris MacNeil in the original 1973 The Exorcist, is returning to the franchise for the first time in the new movie. Believer will follow a double possession that forces distraught father Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) to seek out Chris’ assistance.

SFX recently sat down for an interview with director David Gordon Green ahead of the official The Exorcist: Believer release date on October 6. When asked about the possibility of Burstyn returning, Green was cagey about whether or not the character dies during the events of The Exorcist: Believer. He said that she is “one of my idols” and despite what her fate may be in the movie, “you have those kinds of conversations” about a potential return. Read his full quote below:

It depends if she dies or not, in terms of the character. You have those kinds of conversations too. Creatively you’re thinking, “Okay, well, I’ve got her attention.” She’s one of my idols, she’s an absolute dream to work with. She’s inspiring. There are versions of the script – I’m not saying which ones we ended up with – where radical things would happen to her. Then you’re like, “Well, but if it goes really well, what do we do?”

What the Exorcist Trilogy Could Look Like Without Chris MacNeil

Just like David Gordon Green’s previous legacy sequel trilogy Halloween, this trilogy kicks off with the return of an important character from the original 1970s horror classic. In that case, it was Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode. However, Curtis reprised her role in all three movies of that trilogy, accompanied by other original Halloween stars including Nick Castle as Michael Myers, Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace, Nancy Stephens as Marion Chambers, and Charles Cyphers as Leigh Brackett.

So far, Burstyn is the only confirmed The Exorcist: Believer cast member to be reprising a role from the original movie. While Linda Blair (who played her possessed daughter Regan) was on set as a consultant, it has not yet been confirmed if she will be appearing in the movie. However, even if she doesn’t appear in Believer, it seems likely that Blair will be brought in if Burstyn is unable or unwilling to return for the next movie in the trilogy.

If the sequels to The Exorcist: Believer follow the Halloween model, it seems likely that they will seek to maintain some connection to the legacy characters. This leaves limited options, as the only other surviving cast member who played a major role in The Exorcist is Kitty Winn, who played Chris’ secretary Sharon and previously reprised that role in 1977’s Exorcist II. While Sharon could possibly return as well, it seems most likely that Regan will be the focus of the final two entries given the fact that she has already been referenced in the Exorcist: Believer trailer.