NEW YORK – Does the power of Scarlett Johansson compel you?
Horror director Mike Flanagan stopped by New York Comic Con on Oct. 9 to unveil the first trailer for "The Exorcist: Martyrs," his new take on the legendary horror franchise. The movie, set for release March 12, stars Scarlett Johansson as a detective hunting a serial killer.
"Thirteen years ago, New York City detective Julie Miller (Johansson) ended the terror reign of satanic serial killer Father Sunday," the plot synopsis reads. "The case made her a hero, and she has thrown herself into her work ever since. Now 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."
During Blumhouse's
panel at New York Comic Con, Flanagan promised that "Martyrs" will be the scariest film he has ever made. "This movie is so … scary. I swear to God," he said. "I could feel it on set. It was freaking me out in the chair, like off the monitor!"
The filmmaker, who has directed movies like "Doctor Sleep" and "Hush" and created shows like "The Haunting of Hill House" and "Carrie," also described "Martyrs" as "unlike any other 'Exorcist' movie that's ever been made," teasing that it takes the series into a "completely different direction."
The plot of the movie, though, appears to be heavily inspired by 1990's "The Exorcist III," a cult favorite sequel that starred George C. Scott as William Kinderman, a detective investigating a series of murders linked to a deceased serial killer.
In the trailer, Johansson's character is seen wearing a badge that reads "Kinderman," sparking speculation she could be related to Scott's character from "Exorcist III."
Flanagan didn't confirm a link at New York Comic Con, but he did express admiration for the third "Exorcist."
"It wasn't just 'The Exorcist,'" he said. "We talked an awful lot about 'The Exorcist III,' for example, I think one of the most underrated, underappreciated films in the franchise."
"The Exorcist: Martyrs" also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Diane Lane, John Leguizamo and Laurence Fishburne, as well as a number of actors who are staples of Flanagan's films and TV shows, including Kate Siegel and Samantha Sloyan.
"The Exorcist" was most recently in theaters in 2023 with David Gordon Green's "The Exorcist: Believer," a franchise revival that was intended to launch a trilogy. But the film was poorly received among critics and fans, and the rest of the planned trilogy was scrapped in favor of a new version by Flanagan.
Elsewhere in the panel, "Obsession" director Curry Barker previwed his next film, "Anything but Ghosts," a horror comedy about a pair of fake paranormal investigators who encounter actual ghosts. He also reflected on the "wild ride" of "Obsession," one of the year's biggest movie phenomenons, and said he is a "completely different person" than he was a year ago.
LaKeith Stanfield made an appearance to tease his involvement in "Molepeople," and director and producer James Wan gave updates on upcoming "Paranormal Activity" and "Saw" movies. The eighth "Paranormal Activity" film, set for release May 21, will return to the same house where the original movie took place.
And the next "Saw" film will feel "different from every other 'Saw' movie, maybe except the first," producer Jason Blum teased. It will also feature a mysterious, core element of the franchise, Wan said, without getting into specifics.
When he was asked what makes a "Saw" movie a "Saw" movie, Wan, who directed the first "Saw" and is producing the next one, cryptically said, "The thing that I really want to say, I cannot say just yet."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Exorcist: Martyrs' will be 'unlike any other' entry in the series
