The first trailer for The Exorcist: Martyrs premiered at NYCC, and Mike Flanagan used the rollout to spell out the film’s creative lane. The project leans on The Exorcist III, but Flanagan says it is built to work for viewers who have never seen that film.
Tom Jorgensen at NYCC
Tom Jorgensen of IGN sat down with Flanagan after the trailer debuted and pressed him on whether Tubular Bells would return. Flanagan instead focused on the opening image, with Scarlett Johansson descending into a crime scene in the first shot, and said that staircase framing echoes both the original film and the poster for The Exorcist III.
Flanagan called The Exorcist III “an awesome movie,” said it is “so underappreciated,” and added, “Outside of the original, it's my favorite of the franchise.” He also described it as “terrifying, it's sophisticated, it's beautifully acted,” which tells you exactly which part of the franchise he wants this sequel to inherit: not just the brand name, but the mood and the structure.
Legion and in The Exorcist III
Flanagan went further and tied the new film’s design to William Peter Blatty’s work, saying Blatty was starting to play with the synthesis of two subgenres in Legion and in The Exorcist III. His description of the sequel’s engine was specific: “To harmonize a serial killer investigative thriller with the demonic possession story is something that I think that movie first tries to introduce and gives us a chance to truly run with, and that was irresistible.”
That makes the trailer more than a tease for a studio horror release. The first shot, the references to the Gemini Killer, and the repeated nods to The Exorcist III point to a film that is trying to borrow a framework, not just a title. Flanagan’s line is that the movie is a self-contained story, but the marketing clearly wants the trailer to do double duty for longtime Fans of The Exorcist and for viewers who only know the franchise by reputation.
Flanagan answered the direct-sequel question by calling it “a tricky question,” then said, “So it is absolutely a self-contained story that is utterly accessible and hopefully thrilling for people who have no knowledge of The Exorcist III, or even frankly” That leaves the cleanest reading of The Exorcist: Martyrs right where the trailer places it: as a new chapter that borrows the shape of The Exorcist III without requiring homework before opening night.
