An old Bronx precinct, a church on 155th Street and a street in Astoria – Here's where The Exorcist: Martyrs was filmed
The Exorcist: Martyrs
Mike Flanagan calls it “the scariest thing I’ve ever made.” The man who made Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass and The Fall of the House of Usher presented the first full trailer at New York Comic Con on October 9, 2026, alongside co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor. Principal photography began in New York City on March 13, 2026, and filming wrapped on June 9, 2026 – three months of production across multiple New York boroughs.
The Exorcist: Martyrs is the seventh film in the franchise that began with William Friedkin’s 1973 original. Flanagan’s film is an all-new story – completely unrelated to 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer – that he describes as “Se7en or The Silence of the Lambs crossed with The Exorcist,” with William Peter Blatty’s novel Legion as a key inspiration.
Scarlett Johansson plays a detective investigating murders staged around Catholic martyrdom themes – a serial killer’s execution having apparently failed to stop the murder spree, which continues in demonic fashion. Reportedly playing the daughter of George C. Scott’s character from The Exorcist III. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Diane Lane, Jacobi Jupe, Sasha Calle, Scoot McNairy, Gil Bellows, Laurence Fishburne, John Leguizamo and Carla Gugino complete the ensemble.
Produced by Blumhouse Productions, Atomic Monster and Morgan Creek Entertainment, in association with Flanagan’s Red Room Pictures. Cinematographer Michael Fimognari – who shot seven of Flanagan’s nine features – reunites with the director.
In mid-March 2026, Scarlett Johansson and Chiwetel Ejiofor were filming at the steps and entrance of the Church of the Intercession at 550 West 155th Street in Washington Heights – with police officer extras, yellow police tape and the full visual language of a New York crime scene laid out around the church entrance.
The trailer confirms the location, with an aerial shot of the Chapel of the Intercession complex on 155th Street.
The interior church sequences were filmed at Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church at 552 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side. Locals spotted the crew in March 2026 with exterior lighting rigs set up around the building to control the light entering the interior for filming.
Saint Ignatius has previously appeared in Netflix’s Evil and an episode of 30 Rock.
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Scarlett Johansson was seen filming at the old 47th Precinct Station House at 4101 White Plains Road in the Bronx – the historic precinct building at the intersection with East 229th Street – with a group of protesters gathered in front of the building on set.
In April 2026, Johansson was seen filming in Astoria, Queens, along 21st Street near Astoria Park and 22nd Drive – what appears to be the home of her character Julie Miller. Johansson was spotted running along the street on set and filming scenes with the actor playing her son.
Production took place throughout April across various Astoria locations.
The Exorcist: Martyrs opens in cinemas on March 12, 2027.
SOURCE
IMDb // Post on Instagram en Reddit
CREDITS
© Universal Studios // Photo Michele K. Short
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