Exorcist II: The Heretic with the idea of directing a sequel, explaining that "every film has to struggle to find a connection with its audience. Here I saw the chance to make an extremely ambitious film without having to spend the time developing this connection. I could make assumptions and then take the audience on a very adventurous cinematic journey." Linda Blair agreed to reprise her role of Regan MacNeil for "Exorcist II", but refused to wear demon make-up (a double was used for the brief flashback scenes depicting a demonic Regan). Max von Sydow was persuaded by Boorman to reprise the role of
The Exorcist III his pride in the finished version of "Exorcist III": "It's still a superior film. And in my opinion, and excuse me if I utter heresy here, but for me...it's a more frightening film than "The Exorcist"." Blatty hoped to recover the deleted footage from the Morgan Creek vaults so that he might re-assemble the original cut of the film which he said was "rather different" from what was released, and a version of the film which fans of the "Exorcist" series have been clamouring for. In 2007, Blatty's wife reported on a fan site that "my husband tells me that