Scarlett Johansson in The Exorcist: Martyrs — Plot Leaks

Thirteen years is a long time to let a case lie cold. It can also be just long enough for something monstrous to find its way back into the light.

Newly leaked details about Mike Flanagan's The Exorcist: Martyrs paint a picture that refuses to sit neatly in one genre. Scarlett Johansson plays a police officer and single mother who, over a decade earlier, put away a notorious serial killer tied to a satanic cult. Now, a string of grisly murders has surfaced that seems to trace directly back to that same case.

She returns to the investigation, pulling threads she thought were severed. And as the old trauma reopens, the stakes grow unbearably personal: her 12-year-old son—reported to be played by Jacobi Jupe—becomes the target of a malevolent, supernatural force. Is this a revenge cycle of a human monster, or something darker pulling the strings?

This project promises to weave police procedural beats—cold leads, forensic friction, and dark alley interrogations—with classic exorcism horror: whispered rituals, small signs that spiral into undeniable dread, and a mother’s desperate fight to keep her child from being consumed. The personal history of the protagonist appears central, not accessory; whatever killed time thirteen years ago is not finished.

The ensemble attached is striking. Alongside Johansson and Jacobi Jupe, the cast reportedly includes John Leguizamo, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Sasha Calle, Carla Gugino, Kate Siegel, Rahul Kohli, and Hamish Linklater. Red Room Pictures has already registered the title The Exorcist: Martyrs and listed Johansson, Jupe, Leguizamo and others among the film's principals.

Mike Flanagan wears multiple hats here—director and screenwriter—while Jason Blum and David Robinson are among the producers steering the ship. Universal Pictures, Blumhouse, and Morgan Creek Entertainment are listed as the film’s production partners, signaling a major studio release with a horror pedigree that fans of both chills and story-driven scares should watch closely.

The Exorcist: Martyrs is set to hit theaters on March 12, 2027.

Plot leaks can be a double-edged sword: they build buzz, but they also raise questions. How faithful will Flanagan be to the legacy of a franchise known for its cultural resonance? Will this be a character study masked as a horror flick, or a horror spectacle with procedural scaffolding? Either way, the combination of a high-profile lead, a hefty supporting cast, and a creator known for blending emotional beats with supernatural terror makes this one to watch. Ready for the next exorcism?