I feel most of us breathed a sigh of aid when David Gordon Inexperienced dropped out of his proposed Exorcist trilogy. Whereas I wasn’t a large hater of Believer like some, I had completely zero religion in DGG after his completely abysmal Halloween trilogy. I hoped that Common would go away the franchise to take a breather. However I assume that $500 million funding couldn’t simply sit round, so they stunning rapidly obtained a brand new movie within the works and introduced Mike Flanagan as its author and director.
Now, I contemplate Mike Flanagan to be one of many biggest filmmakers working at this time. Midnight Mass was a rattling close to non secular expertise with its thought-provoking monologues, stunning cinematography, and satisfying character arcs. He’s bringing one thing to the desk that hardly ever ever disappoints (hell, he’s by no means even come near letting me down as I’ve loved all of his work to some extent).
However I’d be mendacity if I wasn’t a tad disenchanted to listen to that he’d be taking up the world of The Exorcist. Whereas he’ll, little question, do a implausible job (take a look at Ouija: Origin of Evil if you wish to see how nicely he can deal with possession), a part of me needs that he would give attention to a few of his different beforehand introduced tasks (Darkish Tower, anybody?) However any quantity of latest Mike Flanagan materials is an effective factor.
Whereas particulars on his movie have been fairly scant since he’s been busy making Amazon’s new Carrie TV present, this week lastly gave us an replace: Scarlett Johansson has joined the movie. As somebody who actually enjoys Johansson, I’ve been disenchanted to see her focus a lot on blockbuster fare. As confirmed by 2019’s JoJo Rabbit, she has much more to supply than simply operating round in entrance of inexperienced screens.
So it’s very intriguing to see her be part of Flanagan’s Exorcist since we haven’t actually seen her within the horror world since Underneath the Pores and skin (if you wish to rely that). She’s an extremely versatile actress, and I can’t wait to see how she suits right into a horror story. Whereas I had little or no curiosity in a brand new Exorcist film earlier than, I’m very intrigued by Scarlett’s involvement, because it appears to level in the direction of the script/story being ok to rope her in. It additionally reveals the extent of expertise that desires to work with the prolific author/director.
Extra importantly, I’m hoping that it is a transfer that sees Johansson becoming a member of Flanagan’s common troupe of actors. From his spouse Kate Siegel to Henry Thomas to Rahul Kohli, there have been so many fantastic regulars in his world, and he all the time provides them such meaty elements. It will be superior if, between her large franchise work just like the Jurassic movies, we see Scarlett give attention to smaller stuff, and I can’t think about anybody higher to work with than Mike Flanagan. Time will inform, however I do know I’m actually hoping that that is the start of a protracted and fruitful partnership.
I simply hope you’re able to do some prolonged monologues, Scarlett. As a result of I’m positive Flanagan is cooking up some good ones for you.
