Universal Pictures Sets The Exorcist Martyrs Release Date

Universal Pictures has set The Exorcist: Martyrs for a March 12, 2027 theatrical release, with Mike Flanagan directing the next chapter of the horror franchise. According to Hollywood Life, the film stars Scarlett Johansson and Chiwetel Ejiofor and follows a new supernatural investigation.

Hollywood Life reported that Johansson plays NYPD homicide officer Detective Julie Miller, a single mother whose past case against a satanic serial killer becomes connected to new murders. The cast also includes Diane Lane, Jacobi Jupe, Laurence Fishburne, Sasha Calle and Kate Siegel.

Flanagan described Miller's background and family circumstances in an October 2026 interview with Esquire, explaining the demands of her police work.

"She’s a homicide detective with the NYPD and a single mother of a young boy named Max, who’s just turned 12 years old. Because being a homicide detective is one of those jobs that pulls you completely out of your life when you’re on call, you might not come home for days while you’re chasing a case. A lot of the slack is picked up by her own mother, Mary," said Mike Flanagan.

According to Hollywood Life, the film explores fears surrounding evil and follows Miller as she investigates murders tied to her history while her son faces a demonic force.

"There are so many things we see and say it’s inhuman. That act, that behavior, that kind of crime, that kind of atrocity, it’s hard to believe it could be conceived of and committed by a human being," said Mike Flanagan.

Flanagan said the story examines the nature of evil through its supernatural and human elements. The film is the latest entry in a franchise that began with The Exorcist in 1973.

Hollywood Life reported that a teaser trailer was expected ahead of New York Comic-Con, while Universal Pictures scheduled the movie's theatrical debut for March 12, 2027.