The iconic actress got honest about her feelings when it comes to the horror franchise

NEED TO KNOW

• Ellen Burstyn starred in the original Exorcist film in 1973 as Chris MacNeil and reprised the role in 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer
• The actress, 93, has recently been promoting her new book, Poetry Says It Better
• Burstyn shared her feelings about the upcoming Exorcist film and where the franchise stands

Ellen Burstyn isn’t mincing words.

The actress, 93, recently spoke with Variety about her new book, Poetry Says It Better. During the conversation, she was asked about Mike Flanagan’s new movie The Exorcist: Martyrs, slated for release March 12, 2027.

The film stars Scarlett Johansson as a New York City homicide detective named Julie Miller who apprehends a serial killer known as “Father Sunday” (John Leguizamo) and then witnesses his execution after he is convicted of his crimes, only to be haunted by the experience years later.

Sharing her frank opinion, Burstyn said, “Isn’t there enough already of the Exorcist thing? It’s enough already.”

Burstyn starred as Chris MacNeil in the 1973 original, which earned her an Oscar nomination. She reprised her role in 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer, something that required persuasion according to filmmaker David Gordon Green.

“It was in the early stages of writing and regardless of any ambition of a collaboration, I wanted to introduce myself and say, ‘I’m stepping into a legacy of a franchise that you’re a monumental part of, and I want you to know who I am and I want you to know I’m here to respect this property and the IP and the character that you created,’ ” Green told PEOPLE in 2023.

Green explained that as he and Burstyn circled the idea of her return, “she got a kick out of my strange sense of humor and conversations went from everything from movies to self-help to places in the world that meant something to us.”

“And so when she read the draft of the script and saw the intentions that I had, she realized that it kind of mirrored in some ways her journey on this earth post success of the film The Exorcist — the world I’m trying to create with the Chris MacNeil character after the events in Georgetown,” he continued. “So there was a familiarity to it.”

Burstyn spoke about her decision to The Hollywood Reporter that year. She said, “This time they offered me a whole bunch of money and I still said no. And then they surprised me and they came back and said, ‘We doubled the offer.’ I said, ‘Okay, let me think about this.’ I thought, ‘That’s a lot of money. Let me think about it.’ The next thought that came to mind was, ‘I feel like the devil is asking my price.’ ”

The Academy Award winner soon realized it wasn’t about the amount of money, but where it went, that she was most interested in.

“The next thought that came to mind was, ‘My price is a scholarship program for talented students at our master’s degree program at Pace University. That’s my price,’ “ Burstyn told the outlet. “So I then went back and upped their up and ended up getting what I want. And I’ve got a scholarship program for young actors.”

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