Summary
- The Exorcist TV show was canceled due to low ratings, despite critical acclaim and a loyal fan base. Season 2 had even lower ratings than the first season, leading to its cancellation.
- The planned storyline for The Exorcist season 3 would have involved Marcus, Tomas, and Mouse tracking down a possessed priest with the help of people from different faiths. Flashbacks and branching timelines would have been used to fill in the gaps.
- While there won't be a season 3 of the TV show, a new Exorcist movie trilogy is in the works, with the first movie titled The Exorcist: Believer. Ellen Burstyn will reprise her role as Chris MacNeil, Regan's mother, and the movie is set to be released on Peacock on October 13, 2023.
The Exorcist season 3 never arrived and the TV series based on one of the greatest horror movies of all time ended. The original movie from 1973 was an intense, visceral experience that is oft-imitated but rarely equaled. The movie featured sequels, as horror movies do, but most were inferior to the original, and they ended with 2004's Exorcist: The Beginning, which suffered through such a difficult production it exists in two different versions; the theatrical cut from director Renny Harlin and Paul Schrader's Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist, which was rejected by producers as "too cerebral."
Like the NBC Hannibal series, The Exorcist franchise was resurrected after years of disappointing movies with a Fox TV show. The Exorcist season 1 followed priests Tomas Ortega (Alfonso Herrera) and Marcus Keane (Ben Daniels) as they help a family dealing with a possession — and discover a surprising link to the original movie's story. Season 2 dealt with an excommunicated Marcus and Tomas on the road looking for demonic cases and running into Mouse (Zuleikha Robinson), Marcus' former protégé. However, that was the end and Fox canceled the show before The Exorcist season 3.
Why The Exorcist TV Show Was Canceled
The Exorcist season 2 ended on a dark note, with Marcus forced to kill a possessed man and breaking his partnership with Tomas; Mouse and Tomas later head off together. About six months later, Marcus hears the voice of God telling him to seek out Tomas. Sadly, The Exorcist season 3 never came to be as it was canceled in 2018. The reason for the cancelation was simply low ratings. The Exorcist had great episodes but was the lowest-rated drama on any major network during season 1 but was given a second season due to critical acclaim and a cult fan base. Unfortunately, season 2's ratings dipped even lower, and not even its fans were enough to save it.
What The Exorcist Season 3 Would Have Been About
Creator Jeremy Slater spoke with TVLine after The Exorcist's cancelation about his plans for the third season. The Exorcist season 3 would have involved Marcus using his contacts in the religious underworld to track down Tomas and Mouse, who were last seen heading to a rendezvous with a possessed priest. This would have allowed viewers to see how people from different faiths, like rabbis, go about exorcisms and confronting evil. This also would have allowed Marcus - who was very much retired by the end of season 2 - time to work up the strength to get back into his exorcising ways.
Since the final scene of the previous season took place six months later, The Exorcist season 3 would have used flashbacks and branching timelines to fill in the gaps. It also would have explored the relationship between Tomas and Mouse, with the latter being a good deal less warm as a mentor. In fact, she would have seen Tomas as a weapon to use in the battle against evil. It would have taken a little while for Marcus and Tomas to reunite, and they'd have to hash out the previous season's trauma. Sadly, The Exorcist season 3 is unlikely to be revived, but while it lasted, it was a surprisingly great continuation of the original movie.
A New Exorcist Movie Trilogy Is Coming
While it may not do much to ease the pain of those pining for The Exorcist season 3, the overall franchise isn't dead. Instead, Blumhouse Productions is teaming with Halloween 2018 director David Gordon Green to craft a trilogy of movies designed to follow up the original 1973 Exorcist movie. Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn will reprise her role of Chris MacNeil, Regan's mother, in the new movies. The first movie has a title, The Exorcist: Believer, and it hits Peacock on October 13, 2023. The movie has also released its first trailer, which shows two girls disappear from school and when they return, they are possessed.
What really turned the new Exorcist movie on its head was when the parents of the two girls looked for help and found someone else who had gone through this in the past. This was Chris MacNeil, Regan's mother, and she shows up and tries to help the family as they deal with the harsh truth that something has gotten into their children and is destroying them and everything they touch. Lidya Jewett (Good Girls) and Olivia Marcum (Matilda the Musical) star as the two possessed children. As long as The Exorcist: Believer performs well, Blumhouse has a deal in place for a second and third movie, also possibly arriving on Peacock as well.