Scarlett Johansson Leads Mike Flanagan’s Exorcist: Martyrs in First Look

Esquire published an exclusive first look at The Exorcist: Martyrs on Oct. 6, revealing Scarlett Johansson as NYPD homicide detective Julie Miller in Mike Flanagan’s new chapter of the horror franchise, Gizmodo reported the same day while summarizing the Esquire package and quoting Flanagan at length. The film is scheduled to open in theaters March 12, 2027 from Universal Pictures with Blumhouse and Atomic Monster among the producing partners, both outlets noted.

According to the first-look coverage, Miller is a single mother whose 12-year-old son Max (Jacobi Jupe) becomes entangled in a case that begins with the execution of satanic serial killer “Father Sunday,” played by John Leguizamo. Fellow detective Gina Restrepo is played by Sasha Calle, while Chiwetel Ejiofor and Laurence Fishburne appear as priests drawn into the aftermath when the killings continue after the execution goes wrong. Diane Lane plays Miller’s mother, Mary, who helps care for Max when the job pulls Julie away for days at a time — a domestic detail Flanagan used to ground the procedural half of the story.

Flanagan framed the movie as a serial-killer thriller that borrows the procedural intensity of Se7en or The Silence of the Lambs and folds it into Exorcist-style supernatural dread. “We’re talking about humans under the influence—or in some cases direct control—of evil itself,” he told Esquire, as quoted by Gizmodo. He said the film will deliver the possession beat the title implies, but aims for “a lot more than a simple possession story,” moving the threat beyond a bedroom or parental torment into a wider mystery that connects martyrdom-styled crime scenes to otherworldly force.

The director also stressed that Martyrs is not a remake of William Friedkin’s 1973 classic or a retread of the short-lived 2023 reboot. “I think the first job is to tell people they’re not seeing a retread of The Exorcist,” Flanagan said. “They’re actually seeing a story within the Exorcist universe that has not been told before,” promising a standalone direction that still connects to prior films without copying them. The ensemble has been expanding since Johansson boarded, with several Flanagan collaborators expected alongside the headliners.

For Hollywood’s horror calendar, the Esquire drop locks a clear March 2027 theatrical target and gives audiences the first concrete character map after years of development churn around the franchise rights. Johansson’s casting as a working detective rather than a priest or possessed child marks a tonal shift toward crime-procedural horror, a pitch Flanagan has leaned into in interviews accompanying the images and one that studios hope will reopen the brand after the previous theatrical reboot underperformed.

Industry coverage around the first look also situates Martyrs as Flanagan’s bid to reset audience expectations after the franchise’s recent theatrical stumble, pairing a marquee lead with a crime-thriller structure that can travel beyond core horror fans. The March 12, 2027 date puts the film on Universal’s spring slate with months of marketing runway after the Esquire images, while Gizmodo’s same-day write-up amplified the plot map for readers who may have missed the long-form magazine feature.

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Verification: First-look timing, Johansson’s Julie Miller / NYPD detective role, Father Sunday / Leguizamo, Calle / Jupe / Ejiofor / Fishburne / Lane roles, March 12, 2027 release, Flanagan quotes on procedural/possession approach and standalone franchise positioning from Gizmodo (Oct. 6, 2026) summarizing and quoting the Esquire first look (Oct. 6, 2026).