“What’s wrong, mom…?”
Recently, we got our first look at Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs after months of secrecy.
Now, the promotional campaign has officially begun with the release of the first trailer!
In the clip, we get our first look at Scarlett Johansson in action as Detective Julie Miller. In a fantastic homage to the 1973 original, Johansson is seen approaching a crime scene via a long staircase, eerily reminiscent of the infamous “Exorcist stairs.”
What she finds is harrowing, as we see a slaughtered alter boy hung in an inverted crucifixion pose. A St. Christopher medal is pulled from his throat in a clever nod to The Silence of the Lambs.
From here, we glean that Miller has been on the trail of a serial killer known as Father Sunday for quite some time. Evidently, she succeeds in capturing the criminal, as John Leguizamo is briefly seen strapped to an execution table.
However, that doesn’t appear to be the end of Detective Miller’s ordeal, as she is later seen talking to a priest. Here, she ponders if the claim made by so many serial killers that the devil drives them could actually be true. Why is she asking this? We’re not entirely sure, but it might have something to do with the bizarre behaviour her son Max has started exhibiting.
Alarmingly, the teen begins mirroring the traits of Father Sunday, and Julie fears the murderer is enacting revenge from beyond the grave. The clip ends with Julie asking her seemingly possessed son not to call her his mother.
What’s immediately clear from this trailer is that Mike Flanagan is steadfastly telling his own story. An intriguing blend of serial killer thriller and supernatural terror, Martyrs is an all-new direction for the Exorcist franchise. A stand-alone tale eschewing the legacy of Regan MacNeil and Father Merrin, Martyrs may just be the shot in the arm the property needs.
Alongside Scarlett Johansson and John Leguizamo, The Exorcist: Martyrs stars Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sasha Calle, Jacobi Jupe, and Gil Bellows among others.
The Exorcist: Martyrs hits screens on March 12th 2027, and we’re intrigued to see how it performs.
Check out the first trailer below:
