‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’ Teaser Arrives With Scarlett Johansson, and Mike Flanagan’s Demonic Crime Thriller Looks Terrifying
Few horror brands carry as much weight as ‘The Exorcist.’ Since the original film, the franchise has produced sequels, spin-offs and plenty of attempts to recapture its dread, with mixed results. A fresh voice stepping in tends to spark equal parts excitement and nerves.
This time that voice belongs to Mike Flanagan, the filmmaker behind Netflix hits such as ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ and ‘Midnight Mass.’ He has recently been busy elsewhere, having written ‘Clayface’ and created a new version of ‘Carrie’ for the small screen. His take on the possession genre has now officially been revealed.
Universal Pictures has released the first teaser for ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs,’ a 15-second tease ahead of the full trailer landing on Friday, October 9. The film stars Scarlett Johansson and is set to reach theaters on March 12, 2027. It is the seventh movie in the franchise.
Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs only in theaters March 12. Trailer out this Friday. https://t.co/KmzWwhUyyk
— The Exorcist Martyrs (@exorcistmartyrs) October 7, 2026
The brief footage is moody and unsettling. The version shared online opens on a dark stone staircase, with a lone figure silhouetted at the top and the words “From writer director Mike Flanagan” glowing on screen. Later moments flash Johansson in character, a priest standing inside a massive church, and John Leguizamo strapped to an execution table.
First-look images add a little more. One shows Johansson investigating something horrific, while another has Chiwetel Ejiofor leading a prayer inside a church. One outlet likened the overall tone to ‘Se7en,’ which fits a film that blends crime and demonic horror.
No official synopsis has been released, but reports describe the setup in some detail. Johansson plays Julie Miller, a single-mother NYPD homicide detective who took down a notorious satanic serial killer known as Father Sunday, played by Leguizamo, 13 years earlier. When the killer is executed, the murders do not stop, and they continue in demonic ways.
As her past comes back to haunt her, Miller’s 12-year-old son, Max, becomes the target of a terrifying demonic force. Jacobi Jupe plays the boy. Flanagan is reportedly approaching the film as a crime procedural, bringing possession horror into a serial-killer investigation.
Ejiofor and Laurence Fishburne play priests who join Johansson’s investigation. Sasha Calle plays a fellow detective, and Diane Lane is also in the cast. The film also features a long list of Flanagan regulars, including Rahul Kohli, Hamish Linklater, Carl Lumbly, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan and Carla Gugino.
That group of returning collaborators is a big part of the appeal for his fans. Flanagan has built a reputation for working with a close-knit troupe of actors who know his style. Pairing them with a star like Johansson gives the project a mix of prestige and familiarity.
Flanagan wrote and directed the film, which is a production of Blumhouse, Atomic Monster and Morgan Creek Entertainment, in association with his company Red Room Pictures. David Robinson, Jason Blum and Flanagan produce, while Alexandra Magistro and Ryan Turek serve as executive producers. Universal Pictures will release it in theaters.
The project has not had a perfectly smooth path to the screen. It went through a couple of delays before this first teaser finally arrived. Even so, early online reaction has been enthusiastic, with some viewers saying they trust Flanagan with this kind of material.
Taking a franchise defined by one possessed child and shifting it into a serial-killer investigation is a big swing. It also changes the stakes, since the detective at the center is trying to protect her son from something she cannot arrest. That crime angle could set the film apart from earlier entries.
The wait for more is short. The full trailer is due on Friday, and it should reveal how much of the story Universal wants to show. For now, 15 seconds of shadows, stairs and silence have been enough to get horror fans talking.
Are you excited for The Exorcist: Martyrs?
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