Universal Pictures has unveiled the first official trailer for The Exorcist: Martyrs, a supernatural horror film from acclaimed genre filmmaker Mike Flanagan. Led by Scarlett Johansson, the film promises a chilling mix of demonic possession, disturbing murders and a detective’s battle against an evil that threatens to destroy everything she holds dear. Set to arrive in cinemas on March 12, 2027, the upcoming instalment takes the franchise in a new direction, blending a crime investigation with supernatural terror and questions of faith, morality and the darkness that can exist beyond human understanding.
The story centres on Julie Miller, played by Scarlett Johansson, a New York City detective whose life changed 13 years ago when she brought down the notorious satanic serial killer Father Sunday. The case made her a hero, and she subsequently immersed herself in her work, believing that the nightmare was finally behind her. However, a fresh series of murders forces Julie to confront the past she thought she had left behind. When a killer writes her name in an altar boy’s blood on the walls of a church crypt, the investigation takes a deeply disturbing turn, suggesting that the evil associated with Father Sunday may not have ended with his death.
As Julie digs deeper, the case becomes increasingly personal when her 12-year-old son becomes the target of a terrifying demonic force. The detective must now confront a threat that goes far beyond a conventional murder investigation, testing the convictions that have guided her life. With her family in danger and the line between the human and supernatural worlds growing increasingly blurred, Julie is forced to question everything she thought she understood about good, evil and justice. The film’s tagline, “Darkness must be hunted,” captures the central conflict as the investigation draws her further into a world of unsettling revelations.
Julie is joined by former prison chaplain Father William, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who heard Father Sunday’s final confession, and rookie detective Gina Restrepo, portrayed by Sasha Calle. Together, they begin to uncover a disturbing connection between a lineage of serial killers, stretching from H. H. Holmes to the Zodiac. What initially appears to be a series of horrifying crimes gradually reveals a far more sinister pattern, one that threatens to corrupt the lives of those closest to Julie. The investigation sets up a collision between criminal history, religious symbolism and a supernatural presence that cannot easily be explained.
The film boasts an ensemble cast that includes Diane Lane, Jacobi Jupe, Hamish Linklater, John Gallagher Jr., Carl Lumbly, Benjamin Pajak and Carla Gugino, alongside John Leguizamo and Laurence Fishburne. With Johansson at the centre of the story, the cast brings together performers from across film and television for a horror narrative that places psychological tension alongside supernatural scares. The combination of a detective-led mystery and a demonic threat gives the film a distinct angle within the larger Exorcist universe.
Written and directed by Mike Flanagan, The Exorcist: Martyrs is based on characters created by William Peter Blatty in his original 1971 novel The Exorcist and the film adaptation that followed. Rather than simply revisiting the original possession story, the new film appears to build its own narrative around a detective’s traumatic past, a string of ritualistic murders and a threat that reaches into her family life. The first trailer introduces this darker investigative approach while keeping the supernatural horror at the heart of the story.
With its combination of serial-killer mythology, religious imagery and demonic terror, The Exorcist: Martyrs is shaping up to be a major horror release for 2027. The film will bring Mike Flanagan’s take on the iconic horror universe to cinemas on March 12, 2027, with Scarlett Johansson leading a story in which confronting the darkness may mean risking everything she has fought to protect.
Check Out The Trailer:-