Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’ Teaser Turns Scarlett Johansson Into a Detective Hunting Demonic Murders
‘The Exorcist’ franchise has had a rocky few years. The 2023 legacy sequel ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ was meant to launch a new trilogy, but its disappointing box office performance led to those plans being dropped.
Universal and Blumhouse then turned to Mike Flanagan to take the series in a new direction. The horror filmmaker came aboard in 2024 to write, direct, and produce a new chapter set in the same universe, though not as a sequel to ‘Believer’.
After 2 years of anticipation, the first teaser for ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’ has arrived. The 15-second clip introduces Scarlett Johansson as a detective who watches a serial killer’s execution, only for the murders to continue in demonic ways.
Johansson plays Julie Miller, an NYPD homicide detective and single mother. Her case centers on a serial killer named Father Sunday, played by John Leguizamo, who reportedly stages his murders to resemble the martyrdoms of Catholic saints.
Miller’s investigation ends with Father Sunday’s execution, but it doesn’t go as planned. When the killings continue, a pair of priests played by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Laurence Fishburne enter the story.
The teaser offers quick glimpses of a frightened boy running, Miller holding a gun, a dark figure in a window, and a masked man. Speaking to Esquire, which revealed the first look, Flanagan described the film as a crime procedural that blends what audiences love about ‘Se7en’ and ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ with the horror of ‘The Exorcist’. He added that the film still needs to deliver a possession.
First teaser for Mike Flanagan’s ‘THE EXORCIST: MARTYRS’, starring Scarlett Johansson. The film follows a detective who watches a serial killer’s execution – only for his murder spree to continue in demonic ways. Trailer releases on Friday. https://t.co/mRdGY8rigN
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 7, 2026
According to Flanagan, the serial-killer mystery moves the possession beyond the bedroom and family torment of earlier films into something much larger. He has also teased that the story connects to past ‘Exorcist’ films while standing on its own.
Alongside Johansson, Leguizamo, Ejiofor and Fishburne, the cast includes Diane Lane, Sasha Calle, Jacobi Jupe, Hamish Linklater, Carl Lumbly, John Gallagher Jr. and Benjamin Pajak. Longtime Flanagan collaborators Carla Gugino and Kate Siegel also appear, along with Rahul Kohli.
Johansson joined the project in November 2025, and filming began in New York in March 2026. Set photos showed her shooting scenes around Queens and Uptown Manhattan. ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’ is the seventh film in the franchise. Flanagan’s film was originally slated for April 18, 2025, and later March 13, 2026, before being removed from Universal’s schedule in June 2025.
It now opens in theaters on March 12, 2027, through Universal Pictures. Jason Blum, David Robinson, and Flanagan are producing, with Alexandra Magistro and Ryan Turek as executive producers.
Mike Flanagan teased about The Exorcist Martyrs script “It’s viciously dark, it’s unsafely dark at times” 👻👹 https://t.co/63ShovGfJZ
— Keeping Up with Scarlett (@whatsupscarlett) October 5, 2026
The film is a Blumhouse, Atomic Monster and Morgan Creek Entertainment production, in association with Flanagan’s Red Room Pictures. The teaser has already sparked plenty of discussion. Many fans have compared its setup to 1990’s ‘The Exorcist III’, and some noted that earlier leaks about the story now appear to be accurate.
Others are simply excited to see what Flanagan brings to the franchise, with many saying they fully trust him. The full trailer arrives on Friday, October 9, which should give a much clearer look at what’s ahead.
Are you excited for Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’?
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