Confirmed: Fox’s The Exorcist Series Is Not A Reboot

August 11, 2016

TV

Written by Kelli Marchman McNeely

Kelli Marchman McNeely is the owner of HorrorFuel.com. She is an Executive Producer of "13 Slays Till Christmas" which is out on Digital and DVD and now streaming on Tubi. She has several other films in the works. Kelli is an animal lover and a true horror addict since the age of 9 when she saw Friday the 13th. Email: horrorfuelinfo@gmail.com

 

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Jeremy Slater, the executive producer of Fox’s upcoming series, The Exorcist, and its director Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) took a moment at the 2016 Television Critics Association press tour to clear up a few things about the series.

The first thing you need to know is that the series is not a reboot of the brilliant 1973 film directed by William Friedkin. The series is set 40 years after the events in the film. The show will however give the occasional nod to the film, including to occasional use of Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells”.

 

If you watch the pilot, you’ll see that we have some…homages to some of the famous moments [from the film]. You’ll see there’s a scene where they reference the original exorcisms in Georgetown.” Slater told EW in July. “That’s our way of letting fans know that the story you love isn’t being written out of existence. [But] this is a new story with new characters that takes place in the same universe as the original film.

 

“It was important to let everyone now that this is a continuation of an existing story” Slater said. That will become clear in the first episode of the series, premiering September 23rd.

Slatter, Wyatt and the cast have all noted that continuing the tone and realistic atmosphere in the original film is extremely important to them as well as building a strong new story that has the potential to run for several seasons.

 

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Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Geena Davis (“Commander in Chief,” Thelma & Louise), Alfonso Herrera (“Sense8,” The Chosen), Ben Daniels (“Flesh and Bone,” “House of Cards”) and Brianna Howey (Scream Queens) are all set to star.

 

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The Rance family, members of Father Ortega’s parish, appear to be a normal suburban family, but are not what they seem. Henry Rancy (Alan Ruck) is losing his mind, and his wife Angela (Davis) is suffering from terrifying nightmares. Their oldest daughter Kathrine (Howey) has become withdrawn and refuses to leave her room and their youngest daughter, Casey (Kasulka) is hearing strange noises inside the walls. Believing that there is a demonic presence in her home, Angela turns to Father Ortega for help.

Father Tomas Ortega (Alfonso Herrera) serves as the new face of the Catholic church. He is ambitious, yet compassionate. Working in a small parish in Chicago, he has no idea what is coming. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Father Marcus Brennan (Ben Daniels), an orphan raised up by the Vatican to fight against its enemies, Father Brennan is the opposite of Father Ortega. He is relentless, and consumed with his sacred mission. The two priests are worlds apart, but must come together to save the family from a terrible evil.

 

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Be sure to watch the premiere of The Exorcist on Fox on September 23rd.

 

Images: Fox/The Exorcist

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