With David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer set to begin haunting various megaplexes this week, all eyes are seemingly locked on the fresh-faced Blumhouse production. Upon the movie’s official announcement, die-hard Exorcist supporters were immediately curious as to whether or not William Friedkin — who memorably served as the director of the OG project — had any involvement in the newest entry in the long-standing horror franchise. So when it was shockingly revealed that Friedkin had no creative input, the horror community collectively facepalmed.
But as jaw-dropping as the concept of Friedkin’s creativeness not being utilized is, a 2020 tweet from the director is making its rounds now in 2023 to show us how he truly felt about the entire ordeal. In the aforementioned tweet, Friedkin insisted that his involvement in a rumored Exorcist movie was nothing more than a “flat-out lie.” You can check out the post for yourself down below:
So, while many within the horror community were stunned that Friedkin and Green didn’t collaborate at all regarding Believer, it turns out all the money in the world wouldn’t have convinced Friedkin to participate. And given that Friedkin was never shy about expressing his own personal dissatisfaction with an Exorcist update, we can only assume that opinion has been upheld throughout the years before his unfortunate passing.
As far as Believer is concerned, based on the fact that the movie holds a 23 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing, perhaps Friedkin was on to something here. Friedkin’s The Exorcist, on the other hand, has stood the test of cinematic time and continues to be regarded as one of the greatest horror movies ever created.
The Exorcist: Believer is out in theaters tomorrow, Oct. 6.