Mike Flanagan has added another of his favorite actors to the cast of his next project, a “radical reboot” of The Exorcist.

Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, who starred in Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck in 2024, joins Scarlett Johansson, Jacobi Jupe and Diane Lane in the cast. It’s rumored that Ejiofor will play an ex-con turned priest in the movie, which is not a sequel to 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer.

Ejiofor earned an Academy Award nod for 12 Years a Slave, and has starred in Doctor Strange, The Martian, Children of Men, Inside Man, and Love Actually. He also starred in the sci-fi series The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Flanagan is known for his horror projects, like Doctor Sleep and The Haunting of Hill House, one of several limited series he created for Netflix. He is doing triple duty on the film – not only did he write the script, but he will both produce and direct the film for Blumhouse/Atomic Monster.

The original Exorcist film, based on the novel by William Peter Blatty and directed by William Friedkin, focused on the demonic possession of a young girl, played by Linda Blair, and the priests that try to save her. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars. 

The project, which has not been officially given a title yet (though some insiders claim that it may be The Exorcist: Martyrs) will be filmed in New York City and is set to be released on March 12th, 2027.