It may not have been his plan, but Russell Crowe is capitalizing on the return of the iconic “The Exorcist” franchise with separate standalone religious horror films “The Exorcism,” out June 7, and 2023’s “The Pope’s Exorcist.”
Crowe leads Joshua John Miller’s “The Exorcism” as an actor facing demons — maybe literal ones. Consider it a meta twist: The film centers on Anthony Miller (Crowe), a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play.
The buzzy cast includes Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, David Hyde Pierce, Josh Warren, Adrian Pasdar, and Tracey Bonner.
Director Miller co-wrote the script with M.A. Fortin. “The Exorcism” marks Miller and Fortin’s second feature, after the 2015 horror comedy “The Final Girls.” They also co-created the USA Network drama series “Queen of the South.”
“The Exorcism” is produced by “Scream” scribe Kevin Williamson, Ben Fast, and Bill Block. It wrapped filming in late 2019 but has been sitting on a shelf ever since.
His other recent exorcism film, “The Pope’s Exorcist,” was appreciated by many film fans in 2023 for its maximalist tendencies — no movie with Franco Nero playing the pope could be truly bad — and Crowe’s extraordinary commitment to the title character, as a priest battling the supernatural.
However, there’s no amount of prayer that could get Crowe to return to his most beloved franchise, “Gladiator.” Ridley Scott’s upcoming sequel stars Paul Mescal, and Crowe confirmed that he will not be part of the feature in part because his character Maximus who died at the end of the first film.
“They should be fucking paying me for the amount of questions I am asked about a film I am not even in,” Crowe said during the Karlovy Vary Film Festival (via Variety). “It has nothing to do with me. In that world, I am dead. Six feet under. But I do admit to a certain tinge of jealousy, because it reminds me of when I was younger and what it meant for me, in my life.”
He continued, “I don’t know anything about the cast, I don’t know anything about the plot. I am dead! But I know that if Ridley has decided to do a second part of the story, over 20 years later, he must have had very strong reasons. I can’t think of this movie being anything other than spectacular.”
“The Exorcism” premieres June 7 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
