Mike Flanagan Reveals 'The Exorcist: Martyrs' Trailer Secrets

Mike Flanagan's resume is well known by horror fans. In television format, he adapted classics like The Haunting of Hill House and the new version of Carrie. For film, there's no shortage of Stephen King adaptations, including Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining. Now, he's tackled perhaps the most sacred (or perhaps profane?) franchise of this genre: The Exorcist.

Yesterday, Flanagan finally revealed the trailer for The Exorcist: Martyrs, which is the franchise's latest entry since The Exorcist: Believer.

Speaking to Omelete, Flanagan revealed the secrets of the trailer. Well, that's an exaggeration. There are still many things kept under wraps regarding the characters played by Scarlett Johansson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Leguizamo, but the director explained how issues such as execution, serial killers, and, of course, demons will influence the new film, which premieres in March 2027 in theaters.

Check out the full conversation below.

Guilherme Jacobs: Mike! It's a pleasure. I've been hoping to get in touch with you for quite some time, so I'm very happy with this opportunity. I watched the trailer and I have a lot to ask you. I'll start with this: a lot about this film was kept secret for a while, obviously while you guys were filming. With the release of the trailer, what can you tell us as a general introduction about what to expect from the film's story and everything else?

Mike Flanagan: Well, I hope—and you saw the trailer—I hope that people are now getting a glimpse of what we were up to, and that they realize we're telling a very different story than they might expect. We're not remaking The Exorcist or going anywhere I think people might expect. It's a completely new story, with completely new characters, where superfans will certainly be able to find a common thread that runs through The Exorcist III and goes all the way to the original, but which also stands very well on its own as a very new way of looking at a possession story.

Guilherme Jacobs: I'm very happy that you mentioned The Exorcist III , because that's what came to mind most when I watched the trailer in terms of the cinematic legacy of this franchise. Because these stories have generally been mystery and police investigation stories, even if there isn't always a detective as the protagonist. In this case, you have a police officer, you have a criminal case here. Did you always think that this type of story—investigations and exorcisms—was compatible in this way when you started making the film?

Mike Flanagan : Yes, I thought so. And I think that was proven by The Exorcist III . I think it's a hugely underrated film. I love that film. I love the book Legion , which the film is based on, I think it's an incredible novel. What I find so fascinating is that a serial killer story and an exorcism story are both about identifying the darkness that's hidden within humanity and having to deal with the manifestations of that darkness. So I think those subgenres actually combine very, very well. It can be a beautiful harmony. And that's what excited me so much: trying to take some of the things I loved so much about The Exorcist III and composing new music using those notes, you know? So yes, I think they work together, they can work together. It's not easy to find the right calibration to make them work together, but that's the beauty of it, that's the challenge.

Guilherme Jacobs: If you include a jump scare with giant scissors or something like that, I'm going to freak out in the theater!

Okay, so getting into the idea of ​​the serial killer: I find it fascinating that, although these real-world stories are very much linked because of what the trailer mentions—about how many serial killers claim to have been possessed by the devil and things like that—the idea of ​​satanic panic wasn't always included in the Exorcist films. Even in Exorcist III, there isn't much to do with the crime and multimedia story of it. But you're doing it. You're doing something that speaks to the history of serial killers in America and the satanic idea involved with them. Thematically, why did you choose this for your Exorcist film?

Mike Flanagan : To begin with, I was surprised by the number of real-life serial killers who invoked Satan or talked about demonic influence. I found that very interesting. So it seemed like a great opportunity to talk about things that are authentic—not saying that possession is, but certainly their conversation about it. Everything we say about serial killers at least invoking Satan or demonic influence, we didn't invent any of that, you know? So I think that's inherently very interesting. But I also think it's worthwhile, at this point, to talk about how aware the world has become of evil, and how, in many ways, the idea of ​​Satan has become commonplace, ingrained in pop culture in a way that I think was even more taboo and dangerous in the 1970s, you know, when [William] Friedkin's film first introduced that idea into pop culture in such an impactful way. With demonic possession, we've become very accustomed to it. We're the seventh official Exorcist film; There are hundreds of unofficial Exorcist movies. It's an entire genre in itself. Audiences are so familiar, to the point of boredom at times, with the clichés of these stories. It seemed senseless not to acknowledge this and try to exist in a world where people weren't aware of it.

Guilherme Jacobs: I want to ask you about specific moments from the trailer and see what you can tell me. I understand and appreciate that there's a lot you can't reveal, but whatever you can say, I'll accept. There's a flashback sequence showing Scarlett Johansson's character watching an execution. Later we see the executioner's mask when the boy—who I think is her son—appears in a very frightening way, also masked as an executioner. What about death and execution is important to this film?

Mike Flanagan : I think it's very critical to the plot. It's certainly an interesting moral question when you're dealing with police officers and serial killers, murderers in general. The question of the morality of the ultimate expression of justice, as far as the death penalty is concerned, is something we touch on. One of the things I discovered and was shocked to hear was that, in executions, it happened that people participating in them, in order to protect their anonymity and avoid being exposed on the internet to activists, would make their own masks to wear during the execution. Masking executioners has always been common. So yes, there's a narrative thread involving that that ends up impacting Scarlett's son's story in an interesting and surprising way later on.

Guilherme Jacobs: We also see the priest, played by Chiwetel, mentioning Jesus' conversation with a possessed man. He speaks with the demon inside him, and the demon is called Legion. I would venture to say that, besides Satan, this is probably the most famous biblical demon because of what it implies. What does this idea of ​​there being one or perhaps multiple entities mean to the story for you?

Mike Flanagan : I think you're right that it's one of the most terrifying verses in the Bible when discussing possession. We tend to think of possession as a one-on-one relationship in many of its manifestations. But I think there's a reason why, when [William Peter] Blatty was writing his novels, he followed up The Exorcist with a book that was the basis for The Exorcist III , and which revolves around that same quote, which in our case is taken from Mark 5:9, where that immortal phrase comes from. I find that deeply terrifying because the idea of ​​you facing a single entity trying to banish a single person is terrifying enough and quite familiar. But as soon as the scale of it expands to the level referred to in that particular story... The other thing that people don't remember, which is a little less famous from that same chapter...

Guilherme Jacobs: The pigs?

Mike Flanagan : Yes! Do you remember how many pigs there were?

Guilherme Jacobs: How many pigs? I remember there were several, but I don't remember the exact number.

Mike Flanagan: He exorcises demons into 2,000 pigs. And that's terrifying because it's not just possession, it's an infestation. And that was an idea that I found really horrifying and that fit very well into this story.

Guilherme Jacobs: Fantastic. Well, I have a lot more to ask, but I think we have to wrap it up now. I'll save some things for the film because I'm very excited. It's great to see a master of horror cinema like you taking on The Exorcist. Congratulations, I can't wait!

Mike Flanagan: Thank you very much, and thank you for your time. I hope you enjoy the film when you watch it.