Exorcist: The Beginning produced by Morgan Creek Productions is a 2004 prequel to the 1973 film The Exorcist. It was adapted by William Wisher Jr. , Caleb Carr and Alexi Hawley , and directed by Renny Harlin. The movie stars Stellan Skarsgård, Izabella Scorupco, James D'Arcy , Ben Cross and Alan Ford.

The plot revolves around the crisis of faith suffered by Father Merrin (Skarsgård) following the horrific events he participated in during World War II. Now an archeologist in Cairo, Merrin is inticed to the dig of a Byzantine church in East Africa, where he initially encounters the demon which he will encounter again in The Exorcist.

The making of the movie was itself full of drama. John Frankenheimer was initially set to direct, but stepped down just before his death. He was replaced by Paul Schrader, but the producers were completely unsatisfied with the film he presented them, and they fired him and replaced him with Harlin, who went back and re-filmed most of the movie, adding new characters and deleting others. The character of Father Francis, originally played by Gabriel Mann, had to be recast with D'Arcy because Mann had a scheduling conflict.

Tagline: A new chapter of evil

External links

• Official Website