The cast of The Exorcist reboot continues to fill out with the addition of Jennifer Nettles in a "key role." Variety reports that Nettles has signed on to star in a main role in the movie, which serves as a legacy sequel to the original film by bringing back Ellen Burstyn. No details have yet been revealed about the character Nettles will be playing in the film. She joins previously announced cast members Burstyn, Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd, and Lidya Jewett.
As part of Sugarland, Nettles rose to fame as a singer with her Grammy-winning work in country music. She released her latest solo album, Always Like New, in 2021. Her status as a singer has also gotten her a place as a judge on the reality competition series Go-Big Show. Nettles has delved into acting as well, previously playing Dolly Parton's mother in Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors and its sequel, Circle of Love. She had a supporting role in the acclaimed film Harriet and had a recurring role in the HBO series The Righteous Gemstones.
The Exorcist reboot serves as a "legacy sequel" to the original movie by bringing back Burstyn, marking the first time she's reprised her role as Chris MacNeil since the first movie was released in 1973. While not many details have been revealed about the plot, it will follow a similar story that will see a distressed parent seeking the help of a professional exorcist after a child seemingly becomes possessed. David Gordon Green, who helmed Blumhouse's Halloween trilogy, directs the new Exorcist with a story co-written with Scott Teems, Danny McBride, and Peter Sattler.
The Exorcist Reboot Is Intended to Launch a New Trilogy
Producer Jason Blum has said that the hope with this update to The Exorcist is that the franchise will be successfully revitalized in the same way Blumhouse had done with Halloween. While critical reception wasn't stellar on Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, all three of those Blumhouse films made killer money at the box office. If The Exorcist reboot is also a big hitter at movie theaters, we can expect to see sequels follow, as Blum is planning on this to be the start of a new trilogy.
"What I hope to do with The Exorcist is the same thing we did with Halloween," Blum previously said, via CinePop. "Halloween, the first movie was great, and the second movie was okay, and the rest of them were not very good. And then we came in and kind of re-jiggered it, and people liked it, so I hope we can do the same thing with The Exorcist."
Confident in the Halloween team tor replicate those results, Blum added, "Everyone thinks we're gonna fall on our face, but I think, we have the same filmmaker, the same writer, David Gordon Green and Danny McBride. And I think we'll reinvent The Exorcist so that it'll feel fresh, new, different, but, you know, related to the first movie, but also really, really scary."
The Exorcist will be released in movie theaters on Oct. 13, 2023.