The Exorcist: Believer director addresses Chris MacNeil's return after 50 years
50 years after its release, The Exorcist's original character Chris MacNeil is making a comeback.
The iconic film first hit screens back in 1973, and soon went down as a cult classic with horror movie fans worldwide.
Several decades on, it's still hailed as one of the best horrors to date and boasts an impressive 87 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The original Exorcist movie - directed by the late William Friedkin - saw a young girl named Regan (Linda Blair) start acting strangely, resulting in her mother Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) becoming concerned about the 12-year-old.
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It later comes to light that Regan has been possessed by a demonic entity, sparking Chris to seek out the help of two priests in a bid to save her daughter.
While there have been other Exorcist movies since the release of the first film, Halloween reboot director David Gordon Green - who is behind the upcoming Exorcist film - has brought back the original character of Chris, with Burstyn - now 90 years old - reprising her role.
The Exorcist: Believer has been labelled as a direct sequel to the 1973 fan favourite as it ignores the other movies in the franchise timeline, and it will be Chris' first appearance in the films since starring in the original.
Speaking about waiting 50 years for a sequel that sees Chris' return, Green told UNILAD: "There were the sequels like The Heretic, Exorcist III and Dominion - there have been a handful of steps back into the title, but this was an opportunity for me personally to return to the story of Chris MacNeil."
The director went on to say that he hopes to bring the character 'into a contemporary world where a family is dealing with a similar situation of the unknown'.
And it's not the first time he's managed to get a big star back on board.
Green getting Burstyn to star in the film comes after the acclaimed director managed to get Jamie Lee Curtis to reprise her role of Laurie Strode in the Halloween movies.
Like the original Exorcist and Green's upcoming reboot, 2018 movie Halloween was called a direct sequel of the 1978 movie where Lee Curtis made her onscreen debut as Laurie.
Green is friends Jake Gyllenhaal, who managed to convince the Freaky Friday favourite to star as Laurie again.
Green went on to label the original Exorcist movie as 'the holy grail of horror movies'.
"I saw [the 1973 movie] as a kid and what I love about it is that it doesn't fall into the tricks and traps of horror films. It's a drama," he said.
"[It's] a brutal theological thriller wrapped up in a movie about parenthood and adolescence and things that we can relate to."
It's widely been reported that Green's new movie will be part of an Exorcist trilogy and, while he didn't confirm or deny that this is the case, he did tease that he has a 'roadmap' for the films.
It's been reported that the second instalment will hit cinemas in 2025.
He told UNILAD of the rumoured upcoming movies: "In terms of plot and story, characters and stuff, we're keeping that all secret right now while we're on the eve of releasing this movie and seeing how audiences respond.
"I've got a roadmap that I'm excited about if the studio will have me back and and I think it'd be a lot of fun."
Green continued: "I've had a really great time, ringing doorbells, talking to spiritual gurus, dealing with a world of research."
He has also spoken with academics and churches, as well as people who have 'experienced these types of phenomenon'.
The creative further teased that he is 'just opening the door to an infinite world out there of opportunity around the world'.
The Exorcist: Believer hits cinemas worldwide on October 6.
Topics: Film and TV, Horror
Niamh Shackleton