3 Minutes
Fresh face joins a classic horror legacy
Scarlett Johansson is heading into darker territory: the latest installment in The Exorcist universe will pair her with rising actor Jacobi Jopp, best known for his award-season breakthrough in Hamnet. According to reports, Jopp will play Johansson's son in a film that promises a bold, original take on the franchise rather than a straight remake or a direct sequel.
New creative voice behind the camera
Mike Flanagan — the filmmaker behind The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass — has stepped in to write and direct after David Gordon Green left the project. Flanagan is also producing alongside Jason Blum and Ryan Turek, signaling a blend of prestige Netflix-style horror sensibilities and Blumhouse's efficiency in producing low-to-medium-budget scares with big cultural reach.
What this means for fans
Flanagan’s involvement suggests a character-driven approach, with an emphasis on atmosphere, slow-burn dread, and psychological complexity rather than jump-scare spectacle. Filming is slated to begin in New York this March, and story details remain tightly under wraps.
Context and comparisons
This new Exorcist entry arrives amid a wider trend of horror reimaginings that aim to honor original mythology while updating tone and themes for contemporary audiences. Unlike The Exorcist: Believer, which struggled to find footing with viewers, this project is being framed as a reinvention — similar in spirit to how Jordan Peele reworked classic genre ideas into Get Out and Nope, or how filmmakers have rebooted franchises with auteur-driven sensibilities.
Trivia: Universal and Blumhouse acquired distribution rights to The Exorcist library in 2021 for about $400 million from Morgan Creek — a clear sign that studios still see major potential in legacy horror IP.
For Johansson, this role diversifies an already wide-ranging career; for Jacobi Jopp, it's a fast track from literary costume drama to one of horror’s most scrutinized franchises.
This pairing — a major star with a breakthrough young actor, guided by a director known for intimate scares — makes the new Exorcist one of the most intriguing horror projects on the slate. Expect a slow-burn approach, careful performances, and a fresh, possibly unsettling reinterpretation of a storied property.
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