Is ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ a sequel?

It’s certainly no secret that a handful of long-standing horror franchises out there immediately invoke a tremendous amount of fear in moviegoers — and the Exorcist commodity is definitely one of those. Originally centered around 12-year-old Regan MacNeil being destructively possessed by an ancient demon known as Pazuzu, the spine-tingling film series has since spawned a variety of sequels and is now set to completely reboot with David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer hitting theaters this week. 

In Gordon’s fresh-faced update, Leslie Odom Jr. debuts in the iconic horror franchise as Victor Fielding — a single father whose daughter begins displaying a chain of odd events and strange behaviors. Desperate and longing for an answer, Victor reaches out to Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), who previously had an encounter with demonic possession back in William Friedkin’s The Exorcist.

That being said, the recent uptick in searches for the upcoming horror film have pointed towards folks wondering if Green’s hotly-anticipated Exorcist project is a sequel in the franchise or not. And, as always, we’ve got this covered.

Is The Exorcist: Believer a sequel?

Much like David Gordon Green’s Halloween (2018), The Exorcist: Believer serves as a direct sequel to William Friedkin’s original masterpiece and ignores all other sequels in the series. In doing so, the updated trilogy is returning to the franchise’s roots in a big way — especially with the return of Burstyn as Regan’s mother Chris.

In the months following the trilogy’s announcement, it has been revealed that Linda Blair is involved in the project in a behind-the-scenes role, but it’ll be interesting to see if the iconic actress makes her return on-screen at any point in the movie. Truth be told, that would absolutely give the film a huge boost and help its return to form.

For those interested in witnessing the head-turning madness, The Exorcist: Believer officially hits theaters this Friday, Oct. 6.