David Gordon Green Exits ‘Exorcist’ Sequel as Universal, Blumhouse Search for New Director

David Gordon Green has exited “The Exorcist: Deceiver,” the 2025 sequel to last year’s poorly received sequel in the horror franchise. Universal and Blumhouse are searching for a new director.

“Deceiver” has been removed from Universal’s release calendar and replaced with Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic “Michael,” arriving April 18, 2025. Meanwhile, Green is in production on “Nutcrackers” starring Ben Stiller and Season 4 of HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones.”

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“The Exorcist: Believer” failed to conjure up big bucks at the box office and received frighteningly bad reviews, with Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman writing, “The clichés of demonic possession pile up with dutiful nostalgia, but they’ve lost their shock value.”

“Believer” brought in $65 million at the domestic box office, plus $70 million in international markets. Green wrote the screenplay with Peter Sattler and shares a “story by” credit with Scott Teems and “Righteous Gemstones” mastermind Danny McBride, who also wrote and executive produced Green’s “Halloween” trilogy.

“The Exorcist: Believer” is set 50 years after and serves as a direct sequel to William Friedkin’s masterpiece, which was the first horror movie to be nominated for the Academy Award for best picture. Ellen Burstyn reprised her role as Chris MacNeil, who now must help two young girls possessed by a demonic force.

Before “Believer” was released, two sequels were confirmed to be in development with Green, McBride, Sattler and Teems on board. Gordon’s exit as director is not entirely surprising, as it was reported that the franchise would undergo some creative changes following “Believer’s” poor reception.

Before taking the reins on “The Exorcist” reboot, Green wrote and directed the final three “Halloween” movies, which starred Jamie Lee Curtis and grossed nearly $500 million at the worldwide box office.

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