William Peter Blatty has revealed something rather surprising, he's written - note that past tense - a mini-series for the Exorcist and there's more than that, the project has a surprising choice of director.

William Friedkin. Blatty explains what he is thinking about with a mini-series.

It seems that there was one thing he would have liked to have included in the original Exorcist, a sub-plot that was never fully explored. Talking to Cemetery Dance through ShockTillYouDrop he says:

"I would love to have been able to include the subplot involving Karl and his daughter Elvira which I did in my first draft, but that script ran to 172 pages, much, much too long."

However it's not bitter disappointment, far from it, it sounds like he's got a genuine chance to bring the idea to life.

"I might have it my way in the near future, inasmuch as I've written an Exorcist miniseries script that not only faithfully includes all the main elements of the novel, but also some rather spooky new material and scenes, as well as a totally new (and perhaps much more satisfying) ending. I've also updated it. Billy Friedkin has agreed to direct."

What? You are kidding us, seriously? Can a mini-series about The Exorcist really work? Honestly? I need to get my hands on that article, and you can do so from the Cemetery Dance site.

After Battlestar Galactica I think it's fair to say that mini-series were really looking like a strong challenger to cinema, they could deliver just the same but they have a huge amount of time to do what film can't, build characters and relationships giving a story depth and width that a film has to struggle for in its running time.

It's fair to say that's struggling a bit, but shows like The Shield, The Wire, Lost and Heroes are helping to keep that high. I wonder though if that's going to last, but more than that if this idea for an Exorcist mini-series will place it in the running along with titles such as these, or even become a complimentary story to the original Exorcist. Let's face it, the sequels haven't always done that.

So could a mini-series really work? I'm not so sure, especially as it would be concentrating on the one exorcism. I could see it working if we follow the priest through a series of exorcisms but that just isn't going to happen is it?

A mini-series of The Exorcist? Is it going to work even with William Peter Blatty and William Friedkin behind it?