Alright, “Exorcist: Believer,” Universal and Blumhouse Pictures’ legacy sequel of 1973’s “The Exorcist,” directed by David Gordon Green hit theaters last weekend and the results were, well, kinda mid. Yes, it’s a legacy sequel, so much like the newest “Halloween” trilogy (also made by Green, Universal and Blumhouse), it disregards all the other sequels and essentially only takes place after the original film).
‘Believer’ was originally tracking to pull down $30 million to $35 million, but when the final numbers were tallied, and the not-great reviews were in, the movie only grossed $26.5 million domestically. Overseas, ‘Believer’ opened to $17.6 million 52 initial markets which made for an underwhelming $44.2 million global opening (2018’s “Halloween” on the other hand opened to $76.2 million just domestically).
So, a new THR article says the series is likely going to undergo some creative changes, but if you’re looking for details, you might be disappointed. That said, reading between the lines, it seems like much of it is obvious.
“Sources say Believer’s reception will almost certainly demand some degree of creative rethink for the next two films,” THR says.
What’s on the chopping block or may change? Well, likely the screenplay for one. Part two, already titled “Deceiver,” seems poised for a rethink.
When it was first announced, “The Exorcist” was going to be a trilogy, directed in its entirety by David Gordon Green, who by then, had essentially already successfully overhauled the “Halloween” franchise for Blumhouse and Universal (though parts two and three were not as well received or reviewed, frankly, so maybe both studios were a little too optimistic.
But recently, Green has backed away from fully committing to the idea of directing the entire trilogy, seemingly because he knows the business and box office, is fickle.
When asked whether he would direct the next two films, Green told THR “My intention is just to start making things, and as those plans come together, if I find myself in that [The Exorcist: Deceiver] director’s chair, I’d be thrilled. But right now, I’m navigating it from a story perspective and looking at my realities of life as I pivot.”
Now if you like Green and listened to the recent Happy Sad Confused podcast featuring the filmmaker—and you should, it’s a good one—the filmmaker is an interesting mix of an idealist and a realist. He said it was freeing to not care what audiences thought about “Halloween: Kills” and “Halloween: Ends” and as long as he was satisfied that’s all that mattered… creatively. But he’s also not a dummy and a student of the business, and understands its realities.
In fact, those who scratch their heads about Green’s choices—once an arthouse indie filmmaker, then someone who pivoted to studio comedies, and then pivoted again to his recent horror jag—should listen to the full podcast if only to further understand the filmmaker. He is a creative omnivore, which can take him lots of places, but he also has bills to pay, a career to maintain and so he has to make choices that satisfy both of those things: his creative impulses and his future in the business.
Arguably, it’s a much more satisfying listen than the THR article, a bit speculative, is an interesting read. That said, THR does have cogent perspective and context in the artile that does point to changes ahead.
Jason Blum dubbed ‘Believer’ “the riskiest movie I have ever made” because of its cost and Universal invested a whopping $400 million into their ‘Exorcist’ investment to own the rights to the franchise. That tells you right there, Universal is a) not about to give up on its investment and thus will be looking to see how they can engage the box-office much more in the next go-around. Could that compel Green to say, “ok, yeah, those choices aren’t for me”? Yeah, very possibly and don’t be surprised if they do because as much as he’s daring and will play with I.P. the filmmaker does have integrity when he can’t align his creative with the business.
THR also notes with the “Taylor Swift: Eras Tour” concert doc coming up soon—a movie that ‘Believer’ already changed its release date against last minute because they didn’t want to compete with that behemoth, ‘Believer’ could get excised from screens faster than usual, which could place the pressure on the sequel to be a big hit, to a big, unnegotiable degree.
