Last week, news surfaced that was mostly indicative of how Hollywood works these days, with Morgan Creek announcing remakes of a handful of movies in their catalog including "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "Major League," "Young Guns," "Flying Tigers" and "The Exorcist." Touching the horror classic in particular drew consternation from various corners of the web, including the director himself, who weighed in on the topic.
"I completely denounce [the remake]" the filmmaker tweeted, adding that he doesn’t believe Morgan Creek even has the rights to the original movie, just the lesser sequels. For their part, Morgan Creek were quick to tweet "despite what was printed" they won’t be redoing "The Exorcist." Except that, "what was printed" was based on what the company’s CEO Jim Robinson told Deadline. That’s just a detail I guess…
At any rate, it seems we can all breathe easy about "The Exorcist" being taken down the remake road. At least for now. Because you know at some point it’s going to happen anyway, because that horror brand is too valuable to be left on the shelf.
I mention it only in passing, but I don’t believe
Morgan Creek has rights to THE ORIGINAL,
only the so-called sequels.
— William Friedkin (@WilliamFriedkin) September 25, 2015
Dear HitFix…correction:
I COMPLETELY denounce a remake of
The Exorcist by Morgan Creek.
— William Friedkin (@WilliamFriedkin) September 26, 2015
@WilliamFriedkin Despite what was printed, we can assure you we would NEVER EVER attempt to remake The Exorcist.
— Morgan Creek (@Morgan__Creek) September 28, 2015