‘The Exorcist: Believer’ Conjures First Trailer at CinemaCon

The Exorcist is back. Universal showed off the first footage from its high-profile sequel to the classic horror film, with filmmaker David Gordon Green and producer Jason Blum also revealing its new title.

The Exorcist: Believer kicks off after the Devil takes over the bodies of two children.

In the trailer, which was not released online, a father drops off his daughter at school; however, she and a friend go missing after school. When they are found in the woods, they seem changed and unaware that they were gone for three days, believing it’d been just a few hours. At another point in the trailer, one of the girls — covered in communion wine — walks into a church during Mass, screaming at the priest: “The body and the blood!”

Finally, the parents call upon Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, who is reprising her role from the original film as the possessed child’s mother). She attempts to help the girls, one of whom has been carving Chris’ daughter’s name on her stomach.

Blumhouse, Universal and Morgan Creek Productions are behind the project, which Universal acquired in a $400 million megadeal to make a trilogy that will be released in theaters and later appear on the streaming service Peacock.

Green, who revamped Halloween with a recent trilogy, is directing. He has said he intended to leave horror behind for awhile, but ultimately said yes to this opportunity. As he previously told The Hollywood Reporter: “Technically, it’s an extraordinarily different film from Halloween. I guess it’s in the subgenre of horror, but dramatically, I’m approaching it very academically.”

The stars of the new feature include Leslie Odom Jr. and Ann Dowd.

The original Exorcist became a major hit in 1973 and was nominated for 10 Oscars, including best picture. The William Friedkin-directed film centered on a 12-year-old girl possessed by a mysterious entity. It explored the efforts of her mother and two Catholic priests to save her.

The new Exorcist arrives Oct. 13 in theaters.