The Exorcist: Believer director David Gordon Green has revealed why his planned trilogy for the franchise was cancelled.
In a new interview with IndieWire, the filmmaker cited a lack of creative freedom and budgetary constraints as the main reason why a second and third film didn’t go ahead, despite the former being written and latter being mapped out.
“It’s complicated. It’s long and complicated,” he said. “We had our next one written and had it mapped out for the third one. Again, it was ambitious, complicated. We were going to Europe for some pretty extraordinary backdrops. It was one of those things where all of the creative parties got together.
“What I’m pitching, in terms of my professional ambition is, I need the creative freedom and give me the budgetary constraints so I can keep control of that. That’s something we learned pretty quickly, [with] expectations that are limitless and really daunting.”
The Halloween Ends filmmaker continued: “So, for me to keep that creative freedom and be able to make the choices I wanted to make… As you see with the Halloween movies, the choices I make aren’t always the most popular ones. So it’s trying to make something that me, and my great friends at Blumhouse and Morgan Creek, want [for] that property to be fulfilled, as much as the audience is there and has the appetite for it. I don’t think they were on the journey I was excited about taking.
Green then went on to reveal that the sequel to The Exorcist: Believe was going to follow Ann Dowd’s character, Ann Brooks.
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Green was able to make his Halloween trilogy on a budget, but for Believer, the studio had to pay $400 million for the property rights alone, before any production costs.
“That stuff gets really complicated,” said the director, who realised at this point that he wouldn’t have enough creative freedom. “Honestly, there are a lot of ins and outs of that stuff that I don’t even know. All I know is, give me some boundaries and let me loose. If there are a lot of people poking me about ideas and thoughts and notes? I’m not best in those environments. It’s just trying to make everybody get what they need.
“I’ve made such great friends with so many executives at Universal and Blumhouse and Morgan Creek, I just want to make sure they’re doing what they feel confident in and makes them the most money. Or whatever it is they’re looking for in their satisfying experience.”
He added: “For me, it’s creative freedom. Every time. And I’ll always turn a corner and figure out where the freedom is. And also where the spontaneity is. I like to reinvent myself.”
Following the cancellation of Green’s trilogy, the franchise is now set to receive a “radical” new reboot from The Haunting Of Hill House director Mike Flanagan.
In a four-star review of The Exorcist: Believer, NME wrote: “Fans have waited half a century for another decent Exorcist movie, and they won’t have to wait much longer. Believer isn’t as petrifying as the first, which had people fleeing theatres just from watching the trailer, yet there are some disturbing moments. Director David Gordon Green, who helmed the recent trilogy of Halloween reboots, smartly relies on atmosphere and slowly building tension rather than filling the film with too many jump scares.”
Elsewhere, Green recently premiered his new comedy-drama Nutcrackers at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars Ben Stiller as a work-obsessed Chicago real estate developer who gets stuck on his late sister’s Ohio farm, playing guardian to his four rambunctious nephews.