The Exorcist was deemed one of the scariest movies ever

Director Paul Schrader was sacked by studio Morgan Creek, which said his prequel left out the blood and guts that made the original film famous.

Renny Harlin was brought in to direct a second version, which is due to reach cinemas later this year.

Both will be released on DVD at the same time, trade paper Variety said.

Substantial costs

The DVD release will go some way towards recouping the substantial cost of shooting Schrader's earlier version.

Footage for Schrader's prequel had been shot in Rome and Morocco, with the cost believed to be in the region of $32m (�17.7m), prior to the film being ditched.

However, the simultaneous release may prove commercially detrimental to both films.

I'm very proud of my film, and I think it deserves to be seen Paul Schrader

"I'm very proud of my film, and I think it deserves to be seen," Schrader told Daily Variety.

Nor is it clear whether distributor Warner Bros would package both films together or sell them independently. A spokesman for the studio said it had not been discussed.

Exorcist: The Beginning, due to be released in the US in June, cost around $54m (�30m) - making total costs for both films currently in the region of $86m (�48m).

Where Schrader's version was envisaged as a "character-driven period drama", the appointment of Die Harder director Harlin signalled a return to the gross-out horror common to previous Exorcist sequels.