The full trailer for “The Exorcist: Martyrs” is finally here, and the man behind it is not being modest. Mike Flanagan told the crowd at New York City Comic Con that the film is the scariest project of his career, according to Variety, and then he and Chiwetel Ejiofor rolled the footage on October 9, 2026. At the center of it all is Scarlett Johansson, playing an NYPD homicide detective who finds herself chasing something a lot worse than a garden variety killer.
What the movie actually is
Per Collider, Johansson stars as Julie Miller, a homicide detective and single mother whose investigation into a string of serial killings turns up a Satanic, demonic connection. The case kicks off with the capture and execution of a serial killer known as “Father Sunday,” played by John Leguizamo.
So, to be clear, this is not a possessed little girl and two priests in a Georgetown bedroom. Flanagan wrote and directed the film, and per Screen Rant it is an all-new story set within The Exorcist universe, not a sequel to 2023’s “The Exorcist: Believer.”
Flanagan has been upfront about that from the start.
He went even further on the NYCC stage. “This movie is unlike any other ‘Exorcist’ movie that’s ever been made, which was something that we were really determined to do from the very beginning, to take this franchise in a completely different direction,” Flanagan said, according to Variety.
Outlets including The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline have described the film as a radical franchise reboot, though the official positioning from Flanagan and Universal is a new story inside the existing franchise rather than a continuity-erasing restart. Some headlines, including at Just Jared and Deadline, have framed Johansson’s character as a hunter tracking a demonic killer. That is editorial shorthand. What is confirmed is that she is a homicide detective working demonic killings, which honestly sounds plenty intense on its own.
How we got here
The road to this trailer has been a long one. Universal Pictures paid $400 million for the rights to a new Exorcist trilogy back in 2021, per Variety. The first result was “The Exorcist: Believer,” directed by David Gordon Green and released in 2023, and it did not go well. SlashFilm and Bloody Disgusting have noted the film’s poor critical and commercial response derailed plans for its sequel, which lost both its release date and its director in early 2024.
Enter Flanagan. He was announced to write and direct a new Exorcist film for Blumhouse and Universal, officially described as “a radical new take on The Exorcist” and “an all-new story” unconnected to “Believer,” per IMDB and Screen Rant.
Even then, patience was required. World of Reel reported the film was initially slated for March 2026 but quietly pulled from the schedule while Flanagan was also working on a “Carrie” TV adaptation for Amazon. Filming eventually started in March 2026 and wrapped in June, according to Screen Rant.
Flanagan’s inspirations tell you a lot about where this is headed. Per World of Reel, he has cited William Peter Blatty’s novel “Legion,” the basis for “The Exorcist III,” as a key influence, and described the tone as “Se7en” or “The Silence of the Lambs” crossed with “The Exorcist.” Procedural dread meets spiritual dread. Johansson with a badge and a flashlight suddenly makes a lot of sense.
The cast is stacked
Johansson is the headliner, but she is hardly alone. SlashFilm lists an ensemble that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Diane Lane, Jacobi Jupe, Laurence Fishburne, Sasha Calle, John Leguizamo, Carla Gugino, Kate Siegel, Rahul Kohli, and Hamish Linklater. Flanagan fans will clock several regulars in that lineup, which is very much on brand for him.
Behind the camera, cinematography is by Michael Fimognari, who per World of Reel has shot seven of Flanagan’s nine feature films. Blumhouse Productions, Atomic Monster, Morgan Creek Entertainment, and Red Room Pictures produce.
When you can see it
The rollout has been a slow burn. Bloody Disgusting reported the official title and first look images landed in early October 2026. A 15-second teaser hit the film’s official X account on October 7, per ComicBook.com, two days before the full trailer debuted at NYCC.
Now the countdown begins for real. “The Exorcist: Martyrs” is scheduled to hit theaters on March 12, 2027, distributed by Universal Pictures, per Collider and Variety. After years of false starts for this franchise, a Flanagan horror film with Johansson leading the charge is a genuinely exciting proposition. Whether it lives up to his “scariest ever” billing is a question for next March.
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