First Trailer Released for Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist Movie Starring Scarlett Johansson

The Exorcist: Martyrs started with strong prospects. Horror master Mike Flanagan takes the helm as writer and director, accompanied by a star-studded cast. Following a short teaser released on Wednesday, the first full trailer for the supernatural thriller movie is officially out. The footage promises a good time for fans of the original as well as those jumping into the franchise for the first time.

Mike Flanagan is one of the best-known horror filmmakers in the modern world. He created an array of Netflix horror shows, such as The Haunting of Hill House, The Fall of House of Usher, and Midnight Mass, and he adapted several iconic Stephen King novels like Gerald’s Game, Life of Chuck, and Carrie. Mike Flanagan has dipped his toes in all kinds of horror flicks across various subgenres, and now he is putting his spin on the classic supernatural horror franchise The Exorcist.

The Exorcist: Martyrs trailer shows first look at Johansson’s detective

The story of The Exorcist: Martyrs follows Scarlett Johansson’s character, New York City detective Julie Miller, who previously brought a satanic serial killer named Father Sunday to justice. According to an official synopsis of the film, “a new killer scrawls her name in an altar boy’s blood on the walls of a church crypt, dragging her back into the darkness she believed she had buried with him.”

Julie Miller is aided by former prison chaplain Father William, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, and rookie detective Gina Restrepo, played by Sasha Calle. The cast also features Diane Lane as Mary, Detective Miller’s mother, and Jacobi Jupe as Max, Julie’s son. Scoot McNairy, Gil Bellows, Laurence Fishburne, and John Leguizamo as Father Sunday round out the cast.

Samantha Sloyan recently worked with Mike Flanagan on his Prime Video series Carrie, which debuted this week. She plays Margaret White in the modern-day adaptation of Stephen King’s first published novel. She will play an unnamed small role in The Exorcist: Martyrs, giving her first-hand knowledge about the film. In a recent interview with Polygon, Samantha Sloyan called The Exorcist: Martyrs the “scariest thing” she has seen Mike Flanagan do.

The Exorcist franchise has been inconsistent over the past 50 years, as seen in The Exorcist: Believer. However, the original remains one of the scariest horror movies of all time, keeping standards high for the franchise. Audiences will see where Mike Flanagan’s entry lands when The Exorcist: Martyrs arrives in movie theaters March 12, 2027.

Source: Polygon