- Primary Subject: Scarlett Johansson’s starring role in Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs
- Key Update: Scarlett Johansson plays NYPD Detective Julie Miller in The Exorcist: Martyrs, a character widely speculated to link back to the classic franchise lore.
- Status: Unconfirmed / Fan Speculation
- Last Verified: October 8, 2026
- Quick Answer: The Exorcist: Martyrs hits theaters March 12, 2027, featuring Scarlett Johansson as Detective Julie Miller, who faces a horrifying, demonically linked serial murder case.
Following the crowd's disappointment over The Exorcist: Believer, Universal Pictures and Blumhouse decided to steer in a new direction by enlisting modern horror helmer Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep) to reboot the iconic franchise.
Titled The Exorcist: Martyrs, the upcoming film pairs Flanagan with Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson in an all-new lead role that horror enthusiasts are surmising connects to the legacy William Friedkin’s masterpiece established.
Why There May Be More to Scarlett Johansson’s Role as Julie “Miller”
On the surface, Scarlett Johansson plays Detective Julie Miller, an NYPD homicide investigator whose life gets upended when demonic killings begin targeting her family. Despite having Miller as a last name, eagle-eyed fans couldn't help piecing the potential easter eggs together.
In the original, Lieutenant William Kinderman is a homicide detective investigating the ritualistic slayings, but also had a daughter named Julie Kinderman.
Considering that The Exorcist: Martyrs focuses on a Julie "Miller", which is presumed to be a married surname, she may be masking her true lineage as Lt. Kinderman's grown-up daughter or another legacy character related to the 1990 The Exorcist III.
Not to mention, Flanagan's signature style heavily showcases the characters' trauma and grief, suggesting that Julie's past encounters with the notorious serial killer could hold the answers she's looking for to survive the supernatural threat.
If Johansson's character is indeed revealed to be Julie Kinderman at some point, her investigation would mirror how the demon Pazuzu continues to stalk those connected to its original investigators, tying the legacy twist into an unexpected generational curse.
How The Exorcist: Martyrs Fits into the Franchise Timeline
Instead of strictly continuing the storyline that David Gordon Green established in The Exorcist: Believer (2023), Mike Flanagan is charting a new course for the iconic horror series, likely anchoring the standalone soft reboot to William Friedkin's original 1973 classic.
Flanagan may have moved away from the expected "possessed child in a bedroom" trope, but the psychological dread and investigative nature of William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist III (1990) frame its horror around the same terrifying demonic elements in a modern real-world mystery.
Bringing this ambitious vision to life is a star-studded supporting ensemble joining lead actress Scarlett Johansson: Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor co-stars as a tormented prison chaplain on his own crisis of faith, while John Leguizamo portrays the sinister killer whose legacy haunts the investigation.
Another is Laurence Fishburne, who is stepping into the role of a veteran priest versed in ancient exorcism rites.
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