The first trailer for The Exorcist: Martyrs debuted at New York Comic Con and Blumfest on October 9, 2026, introducing Scarlett Johansson as an NYPD homicide detective investigating a series of demonic murders. The film, written and directed by Mike Flanagan, is scheduled for theatrical release on March 12, 2027.
The trailer runs two and a half minutes and shows Johansson’s character, Detective Julie Miller, descending a staircase with a flashlight, a lethal injection scene, and a terrified child crawling backward. It was unveiled by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Flanagan during the NYCC panel.
Plot and Characters
Johansson plays Detective Julie Miller, a single mother whose 12-year-old son Max is played by Jacobi Jupe. Thirteen years before the film’s events, Miller apprehended a satanic serial killer named Father Sunday, portrayed by John Leguizamo. After his execution, a new wave of murders begins, and Miller’s name is found written in an altar boy’s blood at a church crypt.
Miller teams with Father William, a former prison chaplain played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, and rookie detective Gina Restrepo, played by Sasha Calle. Laurence Fishburne plays another priest familiar with ancient rituals. Diane Lane portrays Miller’s mother, Mary.
Flanagan described the film as a blend of serial-killer thriller and supernatural horror. He told Esquire the story asks how to combine what audiences love about Se7en or The Silence of the Lambs with what they love about The Exorcist. The investigation connects historical killers including H. H. Holmes and the Zodiac Killer to an evil force beyond the human world.
Connection to The Exorcist III
Flanagan has confirmed that The Exorcist III inspired the new film. That 1990 movie, written and directed by William Peter Blatty, followed a detective investigating murders linked to a killer who should no longer have been alive.
Some viewers noticed the name Kinderman on Miller’s police badge in the trailer. In The Exorcist III, the main character is Lieutenant William Kinderman. The exact nature of any connection has not been confirmed.
Cast and Production
The ensemble cast includes Hamish Linklater, Carla Gugino, Scoot McNairy, and Gil Bellows. Flanagan wrote and directed the film, which he also produced alongside Trevor Macy, Jason Blum, David Robinson, and Roy Lee. The film is a Blumhouse-Atomic Monster and Morgan Creek Entertainment production in association with Flanagan’s Red Room Pictures.
Filming started in March 2026 and wrapped in June 2026. The film is not a sequel to 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer. Flanagan said the story stands on its own with new characters and a new plotline.
Flanagan’s Comments
At the New York Comic Con panel, Flanagan said the film had to be scary. ‘It had to just be goddamn scary, like to your bones scary,’ he said. He added that the movie is unlike any other Exorcist film ever made and that the team was determined to take the franchise in a completely different direction.
Flanagan also spoke about his approach to religious horror. ‘Part of the great thing about religious horror and part of the way we’ve used the horror genre since, I mean, geez, going back into the ancient world, is to try to take the horrors of being alive on the earth and confront them,’ he told Esquire. ‘In fiction, we can stare the devil in the face,’ he added.
The Exorcist: Martyrs opens in theaters on March 12, 2027.
