Blair Witch Project Creators Talk Reboot
📗 SUMMARY
- Blumhouse and Lionsgate are teaming up to produce a new Blair Witch Project
- Eduardo Sanchez and Dan Myrick talk about thier lack of involvement
- “Studios are not your friends.”
Blumhouse and Lionsgate are collaborating on a new film in the Blair Witch Project franchise, but it seems that the films original directors may well be left out in the cold. Debuting in 1999, The Blair Witch Project was a game-changer in Hollywood as an extremely low-budget indie horror film that captivated audiences worldwide. The pioneering found footage movie was shot on handheld camcorders and follows a group of young adults navigating the Maryland woods in search of the legendary Blair Witch. The film’s intrigue lay in its ability to blur the lines between reality and fiction.
The Blair Witch Project quickly became one of the most profitable movies ever, earning millions on a budget reportedly under one million dollars. While it didn’t invent the found footage genre, Blair Witch popularised it, leading to a wave of similar films in the 2000s. Interestingly, Blumhouse made a significant impact with 2007’s Paranormal Activity, which successfully continued the found-footage trend. Now, Blumhouse is returning to its roots by co-producing another Blair Witch Project movie.
Eduardo Sanchez and Dan Myrick, who created the original film, spoke with Film Stories about the new film.
“Myrick: It’s always a little bittersweet. I mean, Ed and I have always had subsequent ideas that expand on the universe and the world that was created for Blair. We’ve always thought that there’s a lot to mine in that whole universe.”
Sanchez: Like Dan said, it is bittersweet. We still love the IP and we’ve been thinking about it for more than 25 years now. And again, we don’t expect to write and direct these movies. We understand how Hollywood works and they’re always looking for the shiny new object, the new filmmaker. And there’s a lot of super talented people out there that can make a great Blair Witch movie. To be included again would be nice. Even if they don’t listen to us. Just to pick our brains – and again, like Dan was saying, we have a little bit of a fan base that’s dedicated to the original movie and it would be good press for them to bring us back in. But, we’ll see what happens.
Myrick: Studios are not your friends. They’re a business, and so we learned a trial by fire in that regard. After that, it’s just the way the business operates. I mean, Lionsgate picked up the rights. They’ve made a couple of attempts at follow-up films that have been moderately successful, but we still hold on to the naive notion that there’s other Blair movies to explore that we feel would be valuable. Certainly to the audience, to the fans. Unfortunately, Lionsgate just hasn’t embraced that approach.
At CinemaCon 2024, Lionsgate announced they would be teaming up with Blumhouse for a new Blair Witch Project movie. While details remain sparse, the collaboration between these two major studios is promising. The project is described as a “new take” on the franchise that began with the 1999 film. Key details, such as the director or whether it will use found footage, have yet to be revealed.
More news soon…
Lallen
Luke “Lallen” Allen, founder and driving force behind Horror Land since 2016, combines his passion for writing with an insatiable love for horror, crafting a unique haven for genre enthusiasts. As head editor and writer, he transforms his lifelong fascination with the macabre into captivating content for fellow horror aficionados.
