First-look photos published this week show Scarlett Johansson on set in New York City for Mike Flanagan’s new The Exorcist film, confirming active production as the project moves toward a March 12, 2027 theatrical release.
The images capture Johansson in several moments that read like shorthand for the franchise: she comforts Jacobi Jupe’s character after a potentially scary incident, she jumps into action in another frame, and she walks past a building reminiscent of the original 1973 film’s iconic poster.
The pictures also put an 18-name ensemble on display. The cast listed around Johansson includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Laurence Fishburne, John Leguizamo, Sasha Calle, Diane Lane and Jacobi Jupe, with supporting players such as Carla Gugino, Hamish Linklater, Rahul Kohli, Carl Lumbly, Kate Siegel, Gil Bellows, John Gallagher Jr. and Benjamin Pajak among others.
Mike Flanagan writes, produces and directs the film, and the photos underline how the director has gathered familiar collaborators and new faces alike. Several cast members were spotted filming across New York City earlier this year — Ejiofor in a Queens neighborhood, Kohli and Calle in Uptown Manhattan, and Johansson and the crew preparing to film a scene in the Bronx.
Context: Flanagan’s name comes with a track record in genre television and film — shows and movies such as The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass and Doctor Sleep — and Johansson has relatively few horror credits, her best-known work in the space being Under the Skin and an earlier, very different outing in Eight-Legged Freaks. The Exorcist franchise itself dates back to the 1973 original and has produced sequels, prequels and a TV series with mixed reception.
The project's public-facing details are deliberately spare. Plot and character specifics are being kept under wraps; what the released photos provide are mood and casting cues. One image suggests Diane Lane’s character is injured after a dangerous encounter, and reports from set note that the Hamnet star reportedly plays the son of Johansson’s character — but what that relationship will mean for the story is not disclosed.
The hard editorial fact that complicates the pictures: Flanagan’s film is a brand-new story in The Exorcist universe, not a follow-up to The Exorcist: Believer. The 2023 Believer underperformed at the box office and its weak return led to cancellations of planned follow-ups, so Flanagan’s decision to tell an original story inside the franchise is a clear creative pivot rather than a continuation of the Believer storyline.
For readers wondering who stars, where the shoot took place and when the film arrives: Scarlett Johansson leads an ensemble that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor and Diane Lane; production activity was visible across Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx earlier this year; and the film is scheduled to hit theaters on March 12, 2027. What remains the single most consequential unanswered question is exactly what Flanagan’s new story will be — how it will use this cast and whether it will reset expectations for the franchise. With shooting underway and the release date set, look to official trailers and studio marketing in the months ahead for the first clear answers.
