Ellen Burstyn reprised the role of Chris MacNeil 50 years after the original “Exorcist” film in David Gordon Green‘s “The Exorcist: Believer.” But the actor wasn’t initially sold on the reboot from Universal and Blumhouse, initially telling Green “hell no” when the director first approached her about returning to the franchise.
“At first, she was very skeptical,” Green told A.frame, the digital magazine of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “Her immediate answer was, ‘Hell no.’ I think people have approached her many times about sequels, so I said, ‘If you won’t be in my movie, at least be my friend.’”
Green continued, “We ended up talking about my intentions and the story I’m trying to tell, how I want to go about it, and how I can make this meaningful to me, personally… Ellen and I spoke and shared literature and philosophies and had a few social conversations. When I then sent her the script, I think she was probably, in my eyes, pleasantly surprised that I’d incorporated some of the conversations that we had, that I’d personalized it for her and taken great lengths to pay respect to the Chris MacNeil character 50 years later. We had a tremendous collaboration, and I’m very proud to have worked with her.”
When asked if he could have still made “Believer” without Burstyn’s involvement, Green said, “I could have done it without her, but it’s a big relief, as someone trying to honor the original film, to have someone I’m not exactly looking for permission but who can hold my hand as I step into sacred territory. If there’s any hand I want to hold here, it’s Ellen Burstyn’s.”
The director, who also helmed the “Halloween” reboot trilogy starring Jamie Lee Curtis, said he “would’ve loved” to show his spin on “The Exorcist” to the 1973 film’s director William Friedkin, who died in August 2023.
“I was looking forward to showing him the film, because I never communicated with him,” Green said. “My understanding was that he didn’t want involvement in the film production, but he would give us his thoughts after the movie. I was very curious to see what he would think, because I know he has been very critical and was very outspoken, but he was also a brilliant man.”
“The Exorcist” spawned four sequels before “Believer,” but Friedkin had no involvement beyond his original film and was often vocal about his disinterest in Hollywood turning it into a franchise.
Out Oct. 6, “The Exorcist: Believer” is projected to score $30 million to $36 million in its opening weekend. After moving up its release date to avoid competing with Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” film, “Believer” will easily claim the No. 1 spot in its box office debut.
Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman did not care for the reboot, writing in his review, “‘The Exorcist: Believer,’ in its superficially competent and poshly mounted way, feels about as dangerous as a crucifix dipped in a bottle of designer water.”
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