Scarlett Johansson Investigates a Church Crime Scene in New Look at Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’
Mike Flanagan is taking one of horror’s most famous franchises in a bold new direction. After the 2023 ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ underperformed and its planned follow-up was dropped, Universal turned to the filmmaker behind ‘Doctor Sleep’, ‘Midnight Mass’ and ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ to reset the series.
Flanagan has made it clear that his film is a standalone story with new characters rather than a continuation of ‘Believer’. The project’s title, ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’, debuted alongside its first trailer around Blumhouse’s New York Comic Con panel in October.
Now fans have another look at what’s coming. A newly released image from ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’, shared by Cinethology on X, shows Scarlett Johansson crouching beside a motionless man lying on a church floor.
Johansson’s character looks down at the body with her hands clasped and a calm, searching expression. Yellow police tape stretches across the pews behind her, stained-glass windows glow in the background, and an officer stands at the edge of the frame.
The man on the floor hasn’t been identified, and Universal hasn’t shared any official context for the scene. Still, the setting fits the film’s blend of crime investigation and religious horror.
New look at Scarlett Johansson in Mike Flanagan’s ‘THE EXORCIST: MARTYRS’ has been released. 📷 https://t.co/Y76K7y1qDY
— Cinethology (@thecinethology) October 31, 2026
Johansson stars as Julie Miller, an NYPD homicide detective and single mother who has spent her career chasing criminals. Her life is upended by Father Sunday, played by John Leguizamo, a serial killer who recreates the brutal murders of Catholic saints and seems to embody a biblical evil.
According to Nerdist, Miller attends Sunday’s execution, which goes wrong, and the murders start up again afterward. As she and her partner investigate, the killings creep closer to her personal life.
Esquire, which published the first images, described the story as a crime procedural, even though it builds a case against an evil that is otherworldly. Flanagan has said he wants the film to stand on its own.
Darkness must be hunted. Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs only in theaters March 12. https://t.co/EPdvByESPK
— The Exorcist Martyrs (@exorcistmartyrs) October 9, 2026
The supporting cast is packed with familiar names. Sasha Calle plays Miller’s partner, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Father William, a priest facing a crisis of faith after overseeing the strange execution, and Laurence Fishburne plays a priest familiar with ancient rituals.
Diane Lane plays Miller’s mother, while Jacobi Jupe plays her 12-year-old son, who becomes the target of a demonic force. Scoot McNairy and Gil Bellows also appear, along with Flanagan regulars Kate Siegel, Carla Gugino and Rahul Kohli.
Flanagan has described the film as a Catholic-rooted crime procedural drawing on ‘The Exorcist’, ‘Se7en’ and ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. He has also cited ‘The Exorcist III’ as an influence.
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
He writes, directs, and produces the film alongside Jason Blum and David Robinson. Blumhouse-Atomic Monster and Morgan Creek Entertainment are behind the project, in association with Red Room Pictures.
The stakes are high for Universal. The studio reportedly paid $400 million for the franchise rights in 2021 with plans for a new trilogy, before ‘Believer’ fell short and the follow-up, ‘The Exorcist: Deceiver’, was pulled.
Mike Flanagan talks about ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’ being the biggest movie of his career and his excitement to flip people’s expectations upside down. https://t.co/BQo4uAKRMK
— Rotten Tomatoes 🍅 (@RottenTomatoes) October 9, 2026
Filming began in March and wrapped over the summer. ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’ is set to open in theaters on March 12, 2027, after an earlier March 2026 date was removed from the calendar.
With a stacked cast and a filmmaker known for character-driven horror, the film is quickly becoming one of next year’s most anticipated scary movies. This latest image suggests Johansson’s detective is in for a very dark case.
Are you excited to see Scarlett Johansson star in Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs?
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