The Exorcist Season 3: What The Cancelled Show Would Have Been About

Here’s where The Exorcist season 3 would have taken Marcus and Tomas. The original Exorcist is considered one of – if not the – scariest movie of all time, and it’s almost easy to forget the impact it had upon viewers in 1973. It was an intense, visceral experience that is oft-imitated but rarely equaled, so of course, it kicked off a franchise. Neither director William Friedkin nor author William Peter Blatty were interested in a sequel, so Exorcist II: The Heretic was directed by John Boorman (Deliverance). Boorman felt the original was “repulsive” and wanted to helm a film that was warm and metaphysical instead of a scary movie. This proved to be a bad move as audiences laughed it off the screen in 1977, and Exorcist II is regarded as one of the worst sequels ever.

Blatty would himself take the reigns for 1990’s The Exorcist III. The script was based on Blatty’s book Legion and was more of a serial killer thriller than a horror movie, and didn’t even feature an exorcism. The studio eventually forced him to add one in reshoots, but while it did modest business, it’s considered a horror gem in its own right nowadays. The movie franchise came to an end with 2004’s Exorcist: The Beginning, which suffered through such a difficult production it exists in two different versions; the theatrical cut from director Renny Harlin and Paul Schrader’s Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist, which was rejected by producers as “too cerebral.”

Like the NBC Hannibal series, The Exorcist franchise was resurrected after years of disappointing movies with a Fox TV show. The Exorcist season 1 followed priests Tomas Ortega (Alfonso Herrera) and Marcus Keane (Ben Daniels) as they help a family dealing with a possession — and discovers a surprising link to the original movie. Season 2 dealt with an excommunicated Marcus and Tomas on the road looking for demonic cases and running into Mouse (Zuleikha Robinson), Marcus’ former protege.

Why The Exorcist TV Show Was Canceled

The Exorcist’s second season ended on a dark note, with Marcus forced to kill a possessed man and breaking his partnership with Tomas; Mouse and Tomas later head off together. About six months later, Marcus hears the voice of God telling him to seek out Tomas. Sadly, The Exorcist – one of many horror movies turned TV shows – season 3 never came to be as it was canceled in 2018. The reason for the cancellation was sadly simple: low ratings. The Exorcist was the lowest-rated drama on any major network during season 1, but was given a second season due to critical acclaim and a cult fanbase. Unfortunately, season 2’s ratings dipped even lower.

What The Exorcist Season 3 Would Have Been About

Creator Jeremy Slater spoke with TVLine after The Exorcist‘s unfortunate cancellation about his plans for the third season. The Exorcist season 3 would have involved Marcus using his contacts in the religious underworld to track down Tomas and Mouse, who were last seen heading to a rendezvous with a possessed priest. This would have allowed viewers to see how people from different faiths like rabbis go about exorcisms and confronting evil. This also would have allowed Marcus – who was very much retired by the end of season 2 – time to work up the strength to get back into his exorcising ways.

Since the final scene of the previous season took place six months later, The Exorcist season 3 would have used flashbacks and branching timelines to fill in the gaps. It also would have explored the relationship between Tomas and Mouse, with the latter being a good deal less warm as a mentor. In fact, she would have seen Tomas as a weapon to be used in the battle against evil. It would have taken a little while for Marcus and Tomas to reunite during the season, and they’d have to hash out the trauma of the previous season too. Sadly, The Exorcist season 3 is unlikely to be revived, but while it lasted it was a surprisingly great continuation of the original movie.

A New Exorcist Movie Trilogy Is Coming

While it may not do much to ease the pain of those pining for season 3 of The Exorcist TV show, the overall Exorcist franchise isn’t dead. Instead, Blumhouse Productions is teaming with Halloween 2018 director David Gordon Green to craft a trilogy of movies designed to follow up the original 1973 Exorcist movie. In a big get, Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn will be reprising her role of Chris MacNeil for the first time.

About The Author

Padraig Cotter
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It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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