10 Status Updates On Iconic Horror Movie Franchises

5. The Exorcist

The Exorcist: Believer
Universal

Last Film Entry: The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

What's Going On? Sadly, a little too much.

With hopes high that last year's The Exorcist: Believer would be a return to form for a movie franchise that has delivered William Friedkin's game-changing The Exorcist and 1990's hugely underappreciated The Exorcist III, fans were left frustratingly disappointed by a truly dismal direct sequel to Friedkin's picture.

For those wondering where the poorly-received Exorcist: Believer leaves the franchise now, the worrying truth is that Believer was the launching point for a new trilogy of films from writer/director David Gordon Green. Yes, after having split opinion with his recent Halloween trilogy, Green has since been tasked with helming a trio of Exorcist pictures - the next of which is April 2025's The Exorcist: Deceiver.

While Universal Pictures and Blumhouse maintain plans to move forward with this trilogy, the poor response to The Exorcist: Believer is causing the powers-that-be to reassess the creative direction of the next two movies. Likewise, David Gordon Green has since thrown doubt over his involvement in these films.

Universal and Blumhouse could do far worse than turn to the excellent two seasons of FOX's sadly-canned Exorcist TV series for inspiration on how to capture the sheer terror of the property while putting a fresh spin on the existing mythology...

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.