Although THE EXORCIST is one of the most highly regarded films in the genre, filmmakers really dropped the ball on its follow-ups. For the most part. There is very little to recommend about EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC, or either attempt at making a prequel, EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING and DOMINION: PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST. However, THE EXORCIST III has been steadily gaining more and more appreciation ever since its release in 1990.
Written and directed by THE EXORCIST author/screenwriter William Peter Blatty, THE EXORCIST III is an adaptation of his 1983 novel Legion, which follows police detective Lieutenant Kinderman, a character introduced in THE EXORCIST (George C. Scott replaces the late Lee J. Cobb in the role for the sequel), as he investigates the case of a supernatural serial killer. Blatty originally wanted to call the film Legion as well, but distributor Morgan Creek decided it should be THE EXORCIST III – and ordered reshoots so a third act exorcism could be shoehorned in.
THE EXORCIST III has a very solid fan base despite being a compromised film, but its fans have always been curious to see Blatty's director's cut… and for a while it seemed that would be impossible. In 2007, Blatty's hopes of getting his cut released were dashed when Morgan Creek claimed that all of the trimmed and alternate scenes had been lost.
What was lost now seems to have been found, as some cryptic tweets from Morgan Creek have led the folks over at The Ninth Configuration to the discovery – confirmed by Blatty himself – that the company is now planning a Blu-ray release of Blatty's director's cut.
After twenty-five years, we're finally going to see THE EXORCIST III the way it was intended to be seen. This is very exciting news for the fans, and perhaps for non-fans as well; if you didn't like the theatrical cut, maybe you will enjoy the director's cut.
No information is available on the release as of yet, but we will definitely be keeping track of this one's progress.