Surprising rumor claims Linda Blair will appear in new Exorcist movie

Hang onto your seats, horror fans! A new report circulating the internet this week says an icon of the genre is returning to the franchise that shot her to fame. Linda Blair, famous for portraying Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist and The Exorcist II: The Heretic, could very well be appearing in the upcoming continuation of the franchise. Wouldn’t that be awesome? In case you missed it, David Gordon Green is bringing back the classic supernatural story with The Exorcist, which will serve as a direct sequel to the original 1973 film.

David Gordon Green made his mark in the horror genre with his Halloween trilogy, which served as direct sequels to the original 1978 Halloween. After Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends disappointed, I honestly didn’t have much faith in his new Exorcist. But this rumored casting has me very intrigued.

Is Linda Blair in the new Exorcist movie?

The original source for Linda Blair allegedly appearing in The Exorcist is a site called Above the Line. According to the site, the beloved scream queen is reprising her role as Regan in the upcoming movie, with sources telling them although her part might be small, she’s still set to return. Reputable horror site Bloody Disgusting picked up the rumor, calling it a report. Fingers crossed we’ll get confirmation one way or another soon!

Along with Blair allegedly returning to the iconic role, it’s already been confirmed that Ellen Burstyn, who played Regan’s mom Chris MacNeil, will reprise her role in the new movie. In an August 2022 interview, the Emmy Award winner explained why she chose to return to the franchise, telling The Hollywood Reporter:

"“You know, what happened was I’ve turned down many versions of The Exorcist 2. I’ve said no every time. This time they offered me a whole bunch of money and I still said no. And then they surprised me and they came back and said, ‘We doubled the offer.’ I said, ‘OK, let me think about this.’ I thought, ‘That’s a lot of money. Let me think about it.’ The next thought that came to mind was: ‘I feel like the devil is asking my price.’ And the next thought that came to mind was, ‘My price is a scholarship program for talented students at our master’s degree program at Pace University. That’s my price.’ So I then went back and upped their up and ended up getting what I want. And I’ve got a scholarship program for young actors.”"

New Exorcist movie cast

The Exorcist will see David Gordon Green as the director and co-writer, having written the script with Peter Sattler. In addition to Burstyn and hopefully Blair, the cast of the new movie includes Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr., Emmy Award winner Ann Dowd, Lidya Jewett, Raphael Sbarge, Olivia Marcum, Jennifer Nettles, and Okwui Okpokwasili.

We can’t wait to find out more information about The Exorcist! The horror movie debuts in theaters on October 13, 2023, just in time for Halloween and Friday the 13th!