‘The Exorcist’: Blumhouse, Universal & Peacock Horror Redo Sets Olivia Marcum

Jennifer Nettles is heading to the big screen in The Exorist.

Cristiano Ronaldo's friend Piers Morgan has claimed that the former Manchester United player told him via text that he "is going to the fight" between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury this weekend in Saudi Arabia.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Jennifer Nettles has joined the cast of “The Exorcist,” the first film in the new horror trilogy. Details of her part haven’t been revealed, but it’s described as a “primary role.” She joins a cast that includes Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd, Lidya Jewett and Ellen Burstyn, who is reprising her role as Chris MacNeil from the 1973 original. The new take on the possession story is being produced by Blumhouse and Morgan Creek for Universal and Peacock. The first film in the trilogy will be released theatrically on Oct. 13, 2023. Nettles is known for both her acting and her music. She most recently played Jenna Hunterson in the Broadway musical “Waitress.” Nettles also appears on HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones” and had a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated Harriet Tubman biopic, “Harriet.” She is a judge on TBS’ competition series “Go-Big Show” and will host Fox’s “The Farmer Wants a Wife.”

The plot thickens. If you’ve been following their divorce, you may have heard of the rumors that Kelsea Ballerini cheated on Morgan Evans with The Chainsmokers’ member Drew Taggart.

There might be more to the story about Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans’ split!

EXCLUSIVE: Shrinking‘s Lukita Maxwell has been cast in They Listen from writer-director Chris Weitz in what we hear is a top-billed role. In the horror pic, which has a storyline under wraps, the actress plays the daughter of John Cho and Katherine Waterston’s characters.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), who has championed a set of antitrust bills to curb the power of big tech, said that he plans to resign from Congress on June 1 to take a job at a non profit foundation.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Blumhouse is sinking its horror chops into the video-game biz. The media company on Tuesday announced the launch of Blumhouse Games, a new subsidiary that will produce and publish “indie-budget” video games (below $10 million) to “enable innovation and pushing creative boundaries” that is “in the spirit of its film business.” The company has appointed veteran video-game producer Zach Wood (above left) as president and ex-PlayStation exec Don Sechler (above right) as CFO of the new venture. Blumhouse Games will partner with independent game developers to bring their creative vision to life via original, horror-themed games for console, PC and mobile audiences.

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Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The beautifully creepy android doll from “M3GAN” is shimmying her way into your home. The unrated cut of the satirical sci-fi horror film will begin streaming exclusively on Peacock starting Feb. 24. Directed by Gerard Johnstone and produced by Jason Blum (“Get Out,” “BlacKkKlansman”) and James Wan (“Saw,” “Insidious,” “The Conjuring”), the film stars Alison Williams as Gemma, a brilliant toy company roboticist who creates a lifelike doll programmed with artificial intelligence to be a child’s greatest companion. But things take a tragic turn when Gemma becomes the unprepared caretaker of her newly orphaned niece and brings home the humanoid doll to keep her company.

Peacock has announced that it will begin streaming the sci-fi horror smash M3GAN from Blumhouse and Atomic Monster on February 24 — exactly three weeks ahead of its recently secured China release. The film’s PG-13 theatrical cut will be accompanied on the platform by an unrated version exclusive to Peacock.

 in 2021 at Universal Studios Japan. Its North American counterpart,, carries over the same medley of real set pieces and augmented reality projection mapping, with guests donning AR goggles as they race through underwater courses and the fan-favorite Rainbow Road. “I’ve ridden this thing 200 times,” Corfino shares.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Paramount Global is preparing to hike the monthly price of Paramount+ later this year, and the company disclosed its intent to take as much as a $1.5 billion write-down from the integration of Showtime with the streaming platform. Paramount Global chief financial officer Naveen Chopra unveiled the pricing plan details and plans for a $1.3 billion-$1.5 billion impairment charge as Showtime is blended into Paramount+ in the U.S. Paramount is aiming for $700 million in savings as Showtime and Paramount+ become one. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish acknowledged in a conference call with Wall Street analysts on Thursday morning that the company hit big “headwinds” in 2022 and that 2023 will not be a robust year for profits. “We are at peak investment in 2023” in Paramount+, Bakish said.

Gerard Butler walks just a bit ahead of longtime girlfriend Morgan Brown while meeting up with some friends on Sunday afternoon (February 12) in Los Angeles.

Invincible Season 2 is set to come out in late 2023 and now there are talks of a possible Jeffery Dean Morgan casting. Hot off his casting in Season 4 of The Boys Supernatural and The Walking Dead star Jeffery Dean Morgan may have hinted that he will be joining the cast of Invincible. On Sunday the actor posted a picture of himself with a stack of the Invincible comic books. Morgan states in the caption “Doing a little reading.

EXCLUSIVE: Blumhouse/Sony/Depth of Field’s They Listen has added Greg Hill to the Chris Weitz written and directed feature. The pic reps Hill’s second collaboration with director Weitz, having worked with him on MGM’s post-World War II thriller Operation Finale, as part of the ensemble cast that included Oscar Isaac, Ben Kingsley, Melanie Laurent and Nick Kroll. 

EXCLUSIVE: More additions to the cast of Blumhouse-Morgan Creek-Universal-Peacock’s The Exorcist with Raphael Sbarge joining as the pastor in the feature.

EXCLUSIVE: Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta books have completed their long journey to the screen with a blockbuster TV series starring Oscar winner Nicole Kidman in the title role and Oscar nominee Jamie Lee Curtis as the famous forensic pathologist’s sister Dorothy, I have learned. Kidman is executive producing through Blossom Films and Curtis through Comet Pictures the drama, from writer-showrunner Liz Sarnoff (Barry) and Blumhouse Television, which I hear is nearing a two-season straight-to-series order at Prime Video. A rep for the streamer declined comment as deals for the project, to be produced by Amazon Studios and Blumhouse, are still being finalized. It is expected to receive an order for two eight-episode seasons, sources said.

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate is in final negotiations to acquire worldwide rights to Imaginary — a new Blumhouse thriller to be directed by Jeff Wadlow (The Curse of Bridge Hollow). 

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has learned that Lidya Jewett will star in The Exorcist, the first film in the rebooted trilogy, which Blumhouse, Morgan Creek, Universal and Peacock scooped up global rights to for $400M.