‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’ teaser: Scarlett Johansson faces a new kind of evil in Mike Flanagan’s horror reboot

The first teaser for Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’, starring Scarlett Johansson, has arrived ahead of the full trailer, which is set to debut later this week

Published - October 07, 2026 11:39 am IST

A still from ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’ | Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse have released the first teaser for The Exorcist: Martyrs, giving audiences an early glimpse at Mike Flanagan’s new entry in the iconic horror franchise. The 15-second preview arrives alongside the film’s first plot details and confirms a March 12, 2027 theatrical release.

Johansson stars as Detective Julie Miller, an NYPD homicide detective and single mother whose investigation into a series of disturbing murders draws her into a case involving forces beyond the criminal world. The film introduces John Leguizamo as a serial killer known as Father Sunday, whose killings are staged around the brutal martyrdoms of Catholic saints.

The story begins with Miller apprehending Father Sunday and witnessing his execution. However, the execution does not go as expected, setting off a chain of events that brings supernatural horror into the homicide investigation. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Father William, a former prison chaplain who presided over Sunday’s execution and is subsequently drawn back into a crisis of faith.

Flanagan, who wrote and directed the film, is taking the franchise in a different direction by combining supernatural horror with the structure of a serial-killer thriller. The filmmaker has cited The Exorcist III and William Peter Blatty’s novel Legion as influences, while describing the new film as a story with brand-new characters and its own plot rather than a direct continuation of previous instalments.

The cast also includes Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Sasha Calle and Jacobi Jupe, with Jupe playing Miller’s 12-year-old son, Max. Flanagan’s frequent collaborators are also part of the ensemble, including Rahul Kohli, Kate Siegel, Carla Gugino, Samantha Sloyan, Hamish Linklater and Robert Longstreet.

The teaser arrives just ahead of the full trailer, which has been announced for Friday. The Exorcist: Martyrs will open in theatres on March 12, 2027.

Published - October 07, 2026 11:39 am IST

cinema / English cinema / arts, culture and entertainment / entertainment (general)

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