'Deliver Us From Evil': Where the Devil Is Joel McHale in This Movie?

Kara Warner
·Senior Reporter
Updated

'Deliver Us From Evil': Where The Devil is Joel McHale in This Movie?

Put out an APB for Joel McHale. In the trailer for upcoming scarer “Deliver Us From Evil,” we get lots of spooky moments, including a glimpse of some creepy, kid-terrorizing dude. But what we don’t get: any McHale.

The “Community” star is listed in all the film’s promotional materials, along with Eric Bana, Édgar Ramírez, and Olivia Munn, and identified on the IMDb page as a character named “Butler,” but while each of the co-stars get ample face time, he is nowhere to be found in the trailer or in the footage that has been screened at CinemaCon and WonderCon. (That might be McHale in the background of one shot in the police department but you can’t see his face).

When Yahoo Movies spoke with McHale and his “alleged” castmates after the film’s recent WonderCon presentation, we had to ask: has McHale has been exorcised from the movie, too?

"He’s like our Joker card that we’ll unleash in the final cut," Bana joked of McHale’s to-be-revealed presence. "He plays my police partner and he’s excellent."

The movie, co-written and directed by Scott Derrickson (“Sinister,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”), is based on the real-life experiences of decorated NYPD veteran Ralph Sarchie (Bana), who joins up with an unconventional priest (Édgar Ramírez) to take on a rash of demonic possessions that threaten New York.

And, presumably, McHale figures into all of this in a way that doesn’t require his presence in any footage shown thus far. Right, producer Jerry Bruckheimer?

"He’s a guy who is a chameleon, he can do a lot of different things," Bruckheimer said, indicating that McHale won’t be doing his wise-cracking "Soup" shtick. "You see him on television in one way, but he morphs into a really tough, funny character in this."

[Related: 'Deliver Us From Evil' Compels You With the First Photo Reveal]

We’ll just have to take their word for it and wait, along with McHale, to see his character’s debut.

"I guess in theory I could be cut out," McHale joked. "But I’m here to promote it, so until I learn that [I’m not in the movie], I’m going to keep doing it."

"Deliver Us From Evil" opens in theaters July 2, McHale presumably included.