During their Cinemacon presentation, Lionsgate announced they’re teaming up with Blumhouse productions to develop a new Blair Witch movie!
Fans of the iconic horror film The Blair Witch Project, have much to be excited about. Today, Lionsgate announced a new partnership with Blumhouse Productions to bring new life to the franchise. It feels like a perfect match, as Blumhouse grew to prominence thanks to Paranormal Activity, which continued the found footage style that The Blair Witch Project popularized back in the 90s.
The original Blair Witch film was a mega-hit, though it only spawned a poorly received sequel in 2000, followed by a “reboot” of sorts in 2016. Considering the lore within that “world” it feels like fertile ground for more storytelling, which is why I’m thrilled to see it get another shot.
Lionsgate Chair, Adam Fogelson, had this to say during the presentation:
“[It will be] new vision for Blair Witch that will reintroduce this horror classic for a new generation. I have been incredibly fortunate to work with Jason many times over the years. We forged a strong relationship on ‘The Purge’ when I was at Universal, and we launched STX with his film ‘The Gift.’ There is no one better at this genre than the team at Blumhouse. We couldn’t be more pleased to be working with them on this and other projects we look forward to revealing soon.”
I loved the 2016 Blair Witch film and thought it played wonderfully against the original film while expanding into new territory of its own. As such, I would love to see elements of that continue on…
The wording in the statement, however, makes me wonder if they’re going for a more “full” remake/reboot that starts the franchise back from the ground up. Not to mention the deal with Blumhouse is a multi-picture agreement to “reimagine” horror classics for Lionsgate. I hope they retain some of the elements/lore in the previous films and expand them into the modern era once more. Regardless, I’m eager to see what they do next.
Jason Blum also had this to say on the news:
“I’m very grateful to Adam and the team at Lionsgate for letting us play in their sandbox. I’m a huge admirer of ‘The Blair Witch Project,’ which brought the idea of found footage horror to mainstream audiences and became a true cultural phenomenon. I don’t think there would have been a ‘Paranormal Activity’ had there not first been a ‘Blair Witch,’ so this feels like a truly special opportunity and I’m excited to see where it leads.”
Hopefully we’ll learn more about this sooner, rather than later. In the meantime, what would you like to see out of a new Blair Witch film?
