Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist was a mistake, admits director Paul Schrader

Paul Schrader wishes he hadn't made ‘Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist’.

The 78-year-old director helmed the controversial 2005 horror flick - which takes place before the events of the 1973 original - and now Schrader has admitted he never should have tackled the project because he doesn’t think he was “really suited” for the film.

In an interview with MovieWeb, ‘The Card Counter’ director said: “I shouldn't have done it. It was not something I was really suited for.”

Schrader - who has written some of Hollywood’s best thrillers like ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘Rolling Thunder’ - added if he was presented with the chance to direct ‘Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist’ today, he would have turned it down.

He continued: “I thought I could pull it off, but if I had that opportunity again, I would say, 'I think I will stick to what I do best.'”

Schrader was first brought on to helm 'Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist’ in 2002, though was fired by Warner Bros. the following year and was replaced by Renny Harlin, who oversaw the reshoots.

However, when Harlin’s cut proved to be a critical and financial disaster in 2004, Schrader was brought back on to the project, and released his version of the movie a year later.

While it wasn’t as negatively received as the ‘Die Hard 2’ director’s version of the movie, Schrader’s ‘Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist’ still didn’t impress at the box office, nor did it fare much better with audiences.

‘Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist’ - which stars Stellen Skarsgard, Clara Bellar and Gabriel Mann - follows Father Lankester Merrin as he encounters the demon Pazuzu for the first time in 1947.

After ‘Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist’ disappointed, the horror franchise went on a break until it was revitalised with David Gordon Green’s ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ in 2023.

The ‘Halloween Ends’ director was due to helm his own trilogy, though after ‘Believer’ didn’t fare well with fans or at the box office, Universal Pictures - who bought the I.P. in 2021 - decided to cancel the other two instalments, and instead brought on Mike Flanagan to reboot ‘The Exorcist’ entirely.

The upcoming movie - which will be a reimagining of the 1973 original - is slated to hit cinemas in March 2026, and Flanagan previously said he had fought “aggressively” to reboot ‘The Exorcist’ because he felt he had something to bring to the series.

The ‘Doctor Sleep’ filmmaker explained to The Hollywood Reporter: “We aren't making this easy on ourselves. But I've always felt that there's no point in going into a franchise or into a property that monolithic unless there's something new you can bring.

“I chased 'The Exorcist' very aggressively because I was convinced I had something I could add. This is an opportunity to do something that I believe has never been done within the franchise – something that honours what came before it but isn't built on nostalgia.

“I really just saw an opportunity to make the scariest movie I've ever made. I know expectations are high. No one's more intimidated than I am.”