FOX and 20th Century Fox Television have announced that Academy Award winner Geena Davis has been cast in the series regular role of “Angela Rance” in the drama pilot The Exorcist.
The character is described as follows: “Naturally beautiful, regal and proud but weighed down by stress, Angela Rance does everything she can to stay positive and keep her faith even though her family is currently struggling. She can’t help but think, however, if perhaps her nightmares about a demon are a sign of what’s wrong.”
Davis previously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Lawrence Kasdan’s The Accidental Tourist, but she is no stranger to roles in horror as she co-starred in ’80s classics The Fly and Beetlejuice. She joins a cast that includes Ben Daniels as the “intense holy warrior” Father Marcus and Alfonso Herrera as the “selfless and compassionate” Father Tomas. In addition, Hannah Kasulka and Brianne Howey will play Davis’ children, Casey and Charlotte, the latter for whom she worries may be influenced by a demon.
A modern reinvention inspired by William Blatty‘s original 1971 book, The Exorcist is a propulsive, serialized psychological thriller following two very different men tackling one family’s case of horrifying demonic possession, and confronting the face of true evil.
The pilot is written by Jeremy Slater (The Lazarus Effect) and will be directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). Slater, Wyatt, Rolin Jones, James Robinson, David Robinson and Barbara Wall are executive producers.
