David Gordon Green has exited “The Exorcist: Deceiver,” the 2025 sequel to last year’s poorly received sequel in the horror franchise, as he focuses on his production of Nutcrackers starring Ben Stiller, as well as season four of HBO’s "The Righteous Gemstones".
Universal and Blumhouse are searching for a new director.
"The Exorcist: Deceiver" was initially to hit theaters on April 18, 2025, but is now unset. Instead, Universal will use that date for Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic “Michael,”.
Last year, Green’s The Exorcist: Believer was a major disappointment at the box office. Universal shelled out a huge $400 million for rights to the iconic horror franchise and planned a trilogy of movies. "The Exorcist: Believer" topped out at $136.2 million globally, including just $65.5 million domestically.
Green co-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 is not entirely surprising, as it was reported that the franchise would undergo some creative changes following its 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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