The 1973 film The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin and based on the novel by William Peter Blatty, is still considered one of the most terrifying movies of all time. Audiences back in the day were shocked at how graphic and disturbing the tale of a twelve year old girl possessed by a demon could be, and they flocked to the theater in droves. Just how huge was it? Let me put it this way — if the movie were to come out today, its box office intake would be close to a billion dollars. That’s unprecedented in any decade, where horror films aren’t known for crossing over and doing blockbuster business.

Despite the onslaught of remakes of horror classics from the ’70s and ’80s these past few years, The Exorcist always seemed safe from the remake craze, if only because the original film was so shocking and (if one is religious) downright blasphemous. To make a similar movie with the same punch today, it would almost have to get the dreaded NC-17 rating. So for this reason, The Exorcist has dodged the remake bullet, at least theatrically.

But now the Hollywood Reporter is sharing the news that The Exorcist is following in the steps of other horror classics that have made the successful leap from big screen to television, like Psycho, Evil Dead, and The Omen, and is getting a TV pilot order from Fox. Described as “a modern reinvention inspired by William Blatty’s original book, The Exorcist is a propulsive, serialized psychological thriller following two very different men tackling one family’s case of horrifying demonic possession, and confronting the face of true evil.”

Nerdist received secondary confirmation from a source at Fox, but nothing more regarding the project.

The project is being written by Jeremy Slater, one of the writer’s of last year’s ill-fated Fantastic Four reboot, and is being made with Morgan Creek Productions. What’s interesting is that this is being produced by Fox, presumably for the broadcast network and not for FX. How they plan on getting away with half the stuff from the book and making it into a primetime television show is beyond me, but crazier things have happened.

What do you think of The Exorcist possibly coming to TV? Do you think it will be watered down, or can a TV series to the classic novel justice? Let us know in the comments!

—
HT: The Hollywood Reporter
IMAGE: Warner Brothers