Scarlett Johansson walks down the spooky stairs in The Exorcist: Martyrs trailer

The trailer for the upcoming 2027 film The Exorcist: Martyrs opens with a staircase shot that bears no resemblance to the iconic staircase from the 1973 original. Writer and director Mike Flanagan expertly employs this scene to evoke the same sense of dread as the original, albeit with a more graphic and explicit approach. Scarlett Johansson stars as a mother witnessing her child succumb to an unstoppable demonic influence.

The two-and-a-half-minute teaser also draws comparisons to the 1998 film Fallen, which follows a cop observing the execution of a serial killer who later faces a demonic infestation. The trailer showcases the primary cast, including Sasha Calle as Johansson's fellow cop and Laurence Fishburne in brief glimpses of a new priest. The film also features numerous corpses and characters dressed in executioner attire, heightening its modern-day creep factor.

Flanagan successfully captures the pervasive and inescapable dread that made the original Exorcist such a successful nightmare. The Exorcist: Martyrs is set to premiere in theaters on March 12, 2027.