SUBMITTED BY Scooby

September 12, 2004 — DavidDVD reports that Paul Shrader's version of The Exorcist prequel may still be released. Shrader was orginally hired by the production company Morgan Creek to direct the film. After the $35 million film was turned in, the production company felt that the film should be scarier, and hired Renny Harlin to direct a $50 million version that made it to the theaters.

"We are definitely leaning toward releasing [Shrader's version] in some form," said Guy McElwaine, president of Morgan Creek. "Paul was out here all last week and we talked about it a lot." Although the film could roll out directly to video, McElwaine said he is considering giving the film a limited theatrical launch first. Warner Home Video is expected to release Harlin's version, but no street date has been formally announced. "I would say it's more likely to be afterward [in 2005] sometime," said McElwaine, explaining that he'd prefer to be free of both the ultra-competitive Oscar theatrical season and the holiday DVD crunch. For his part, Shrader is optimistic that some answer will come shortly about finally delivering his film to an audience. "To my knowledge," the filmmaker said, "the decision is this week's business at Morgan Creek."