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Merrin, an elderly Irish priest and paleontologist on an archeological dig in Iraq, finds images of the demon Pazuzu and subsequently experiences other unusual phenomena. He had previously faced the demon many years before during an exorcism in Africa. The find sparks a premonition that he will battle the demon again in a distant land. Merrin does not appear again until much later in the novel, when he joins the protagonist, Father Damien Karras, in Washington, D.C., to exorcise the demon from the body of a young girl (Regan MacNeil). Merrin, who has a heart disease for which he takes nitroglycerin, dies during the ritual, leaving the inexperienced Karras to complete the exorcism himself. Merrin is loosely based on the British archaeologist Gerald Lankester Harding,[1] though in the film he is played by Max von Sydow with a noticeably Irish accent. This was later parodied by James Woods in the film Scary Movie 2.
Merrin's depiction in the 1973 film The Exorcist is faithful to the novel. The character of Merrin reappears in the sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), in extended flashbacks detailing an exorcism he performed in Africa following the Second World War. He is portrayed in both films by Max von Sydow. The studio wanted Marlon Brando for the role of Father Merrin,[2] but director William Friedkin immediately vetoed this by stating it would become a "Brando movie".
The character was featured again in both prequel films, Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. Both films revisit Merrin's experiences in Africa immediately prior to his first exorcism, but each presents a different version of the events and neither agrees with the events as presented in Exorcist II. He is played in both films by Stellan Skarsgård.
Other adaptationsedit
In the 2014 BBC Radio dramatisation, Merrin is voiced by Ian McDiarmid.
lankester, merrin, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, relies, largely, entirely, single, source, relevant, discussion, found, talk, page, pl. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Lankester Merrin news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2017 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Lankester Merrin news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2017 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message For the Star Wars Jedi character see Merrin character Father Lankester Merrin is a fictional title character in the 1971 novel The Exorcist and one of the main protagonists in its 1973 film adaptation He figures prominently in several of its prequel and sequel films In addition to his role as a priest Merrin is an accomplished archaeologist Lankester MerrinThe Exorcist characterMax von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin in the 1973 film The Exorcist First appearanceThe ExorcistCreated byWilliam Peter BlattyPortrayed byFilms Max von Sydow The Exorcist and The Heretic Stellan Skarsgard The Beginning and Dominion Stage plays Richard ChamberlainPeter BowlesPaul NicholasVoiced byIan McDiarmid BBC Radio adaptation In universe informationFull nameLankester MerrinTitleFatherOccupationExorcist priestNationalityIrishLocationWashington D C United States Contents 1 In the novel 2 In the films 3 Other adaptations 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksIn the novel editMerrin an elderly Irish priest and paleontologist on an archeological dig in Iraq finds images of the demon Pazuzu and subsequently experiences other unusual phenomena He had previously faced the demon many years before during an exorcism in Africa The find sparks a premonition that he will battle the demon again in a distant land Merrin does not appear again until much later in the novel when he joins the protagonist Father Damien Karras in Washington D C to exorcise the demon from the body of a young girl Regan MacNeil Merrin who has a heart disease for which he takes nitroglycerin dies during the ritual leaving the inexperienced Karras to complete the exorcism himself Merrin is loosely based on the British archaeologist Gerald Lankester Harding 1 though in the film he is played by Max von Sydow with a noticeably Irish accent This was later parodied by James Woods in the film Scary Movie 2 In the films edit nbsp Stellan Skarsgard as Lankester Merrin in Exorcist The Beginning 2004 Merrin s depiction in the 1973 film The Exorcist is faithful to the novel The character of Merrin reappears in the sequel Exorcist II The Heretic 1977 in extended flashbacks detailing an exorcism he performed in Africa following the Second World War He is portrayed in both films by Max von Sydow The studio wanted Marlon Brando for the role of Father Merrin 2 but director William Friedkin immediately vetoed this by stating it would become a Brando movie The character was featured again in both prequel films Exorcist The Beginning and Dominion Prequel to the Exorcist Both films revisit Merrin s experiences in Africa immediately prior to his first exorcism but each presents a different version of the events and neither agrees with the events as presented in Exorcist II He is played in both films by Stellan Skarsgard Other adaptations editIn the 2014 BBC Radio dramatisation Merrin is voiced by Ian McDiarmid See also editExorcism of Roland Doe Raymond J Bishop William S BowdernReferences edit A website dedicated to William Peter Blatty The Ninth Configuration amp Legion TheNinthConfiguration com Retrieved 2020 11 08 Coffin Patrick 1 December 2013 The Unbearable Frightness of Being Retrieved 16 June 2015 External links editMax von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin in the 1973 film The Exorcist at IMDb Stellan Skarsgard as Father Lankester Merrin in the 2004 film Exorcist The Beginning at IMDb nbsp This article about a fictional character from a novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lankester Merrin amp oldid 1206986736, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
