Diane Lane Teams With Scarlett Johansson For Mike Flanagan's New Exorcist Movie

Universal and Peacock paid a jaw-dropping sum (somewhere around $400 million) for a new Exorcist trilogy. That plan hit a wall after the first movie underperformed creatively, but the rebooted reboot is back on track with Mike Flanagan steering and, as of now, Scarlett Johansson and Diane Lane on board. Yes, that is a cast that turns heads.

How we got here

Universal and Peacock bought distribution rights to a full-on Exorcist sequel trilogy, with Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green re-teaming after their Halloween run. Green’s first entry, The Exorcist: Believer, opened in October 2023. It made $137 million worldwide on a $30 million budget—financially fine, but the reception was rough, and Universal clearly wanted more than “fine.”

At the time, a sequel titled The Exorcist: Deceiver was already written and dated for April 18, 2025, with a third film’s story mapped out. After Believer landed with a thud, Deceiver was shelved and Green exited.

Enter Mike Flanagan

Last year, the follow-up was handed to writer/director/producer Mike Flanagan, who was said to be cooking up a fresh angle on the franchise.

A “radical new take” is how it was described.

The movie won’t make its original March 13, 2026 slot. It’s now aiming for theaters on March 12, 2027.

Cast: the new trio

Scarlett Johansson is leading the film, and Deadline says Diane Lane just signed on. Jacobi Jupe (Hamnet) is also in the cast; the prevailing assumption is he’s playing Johansson’s character’s son, but that’s not confirmed.

What we know right now

• Release date: March 12, 2027 (theatrical).
• Filming: Expected to start soon in New York.
• Cast so far: Scarlett Johansson, Diane Lane, Jacobi Jupe.
• Story: Officially under wraps. Don’t expect plot details for a while.
• Producers: From Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, Morgan Creek Entertainment, and Flanagan’s Red Room Pictures. Jason Blum is producing; Ryan Turek is executive producer for Blumhouse-Atomic Monster. David Robinson is producing for Morgan Creek. Alexandra Magistro is executive producer for Red Room.
• How we got here: Universal/Peacock shelled out roughly $400M for an Exorcist trilogy. David Gordon Green launched it with The Exorcist: Believer ($137M on $30M), but negative reactions led to shelving The Exorcist: Deceiver and Green’s departure.

The rumor mill (grain of salt required)

Industry reporter Jeff Sneider claims Flanagan was told to lock a bona fide movie star for the lead. Per his reporting, Flanagan reached out to Angelina Jolie, while Universal also felt out Charlize Theron—who already works with the studio via Fast and Furious and is said to be part of the ensemble in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which Universal plans to release next summer. In the end, they went with Johansson, who, beyond Sing, is also tied to Universal’s Jurassic World franchise now.

Another unconfirmed nugget from World of Reel: the film might be titled "The Exorcist: Martyrs," with Johansson playing a small-town rookie detective pulled into something unspeakably dark. That’s pure speculation at this point—and if the lead was being pitched to actresses in their 40s and 50s, then “rookie” would be an unusually late start. File it under wait-and-see.

Bottom line

Universal spent big to revive The Exorcist and stumbled out of the gate. Handing the keys to Flanagan and stacking the cast with Johansson and Lane signals a hard reset. If that “radical” angle actually feels new—and not just louder—it could be the course correction this franchise badly needs.