DirectorWilliam Friedkin’s 1973 classicThe Exorcistis still considered by many to be the scariest movie of all time. Back in 2013, Morgan Creek Productions was shopping a potential miniseries based onThe Exorcist, written byJeremy Slater(Fantastic Four), but we never heard anything about that project moving forward. Last week,Deadlinereported that Morgan Creek is looking to sell off their entire film catalog, although the company would keep remake rights for five movies in their 78-film catalog, one of which beingThe Exorcist, with CEO Jim Robinson revealing that ideas are being “tossed around” for a remake of classic. As it turns out, that isn’t the case, with the officialTwitteraccount for Morgan Creek revealing today that they, “will never attempt to remakeThe Exorcist.”
Shortly after the news broke last week, directorWilliam Friedkinrevealed that he doesn’t believe Morgan Creek even owns the rights to the original Exorcist, only the “so-called sequels.” Still, even if Morgan Creek does own the remake rights, and plan to retain them when and if their film catalog is sold, then it seems they don’t plan on putting the rights to use, at least for now. There have been rumors of aremakein the past, but nothing has ever come to fruition.
If the film library sale goes through, the other franchises Morgan Creek would retain remake rights to areAce Ventura: Pet Detective,Major League,Young Gunsand Flying Tigers. The studio would pay a percentage of the gross profit to the new owner of the library, if any of these potential remakes move forward. Jim Robinson toldDeadlinelast week that remakes forAce Ventura: Pet DetectiveandMajor Leagueare already being considered.
The ExorciststarredEllen Burstyn,Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb andLinda Blair, centering on a mother enlisting the help of two priests to get rid of a demonic presence that dwells inside her daughter. The film, based onWilliam Peter Blatty’s novel of the same name, spawned the sequelsExorcist II: The Heretic(1977),The Exorcist III(1990) and the prequelExorcist: The Beginning. It’s possible that Morgan Creek is keeping the rights to develop yet another sequel, but we don’t know why they plan on retaining the remake rights, if they don’t plan to put together a remake.
It isn’t known if Morgan Creek currently has any buyers lined up to purchase their film library, but we’ll keep you posted with any updates. While studios are lining up remakes, reboots and sequels left and right, there are certain properties that some fans feel should never be touched, and it goes without saying that theWilliam Friedkin’shorror classicis certainly one of them. It’s worth noting that Morgan Creek does not have any debt, and the money earned from this sale will go towards the development of new projects on their slate. Are you gladThe Exorcistremake will “never” happen? Let us know what you think, and stay tuned for more updates.
