Exorcism movies are so hot right now. There was the much-maligned The Exorcist: Believer, the first in a promised trilogy set to take place in the world of The Exorcist. There was also the Russell Crowe-starring feature The Pope’s Exorcist in 2023 and the exorcism-adjacent The First Omen, which came out earlier this month.
A-list actors Al Pacino and Dan Stevens (the latter of whom is pictured above getting up close and personal with the Shadow King in Legion) want to get in on the exorcist action, it seems, and Variety reports that the two are set to star in an exorcism horror film called The Ritual.
The movie comes from director David Midell, who co-wrote it with Enrico Natale.
Here’s Variety’s description of the film:
Based on a true story, The Ritual follows two priests—one questioning his faith (Stevens) and one reckoning with a troubled past (Pacino)—who must put aside their differences to save a possessed young woman through a difficult and dangerous series of exorcisms.
That young woman mentioned in the synopsis is Emma Schmidt, and Variety reports that the film is “an authentic portrayal” of her demonic possession and subsequent exorcisms. Schmidt’s case is also apparently the most documented exorcism in U.S. history. Take that, The Conjuring franchise!
The project is still in its early days, so no news yet on when the film will scare its way into theaters.
