The horror genre encompasses various sub-categories, each with their own seminal titles that have set the standard of what to expect. When it comes to found footage, The Blair Witch Project remains a classic, and it will be brought back to life again.
First announced at CinemaCon 2024, a reboot of the supernatural thriller has been slated for theatrical release from Lionsgate on 24 September 2027. Plot details and cast information are under lock and key, but the untitled film was previously described as a “new vision” set to “reintroduce this horror classic for a new generation”. Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams, who starred in the first movie, were also confirmed as executive producers back then, alongside the original directing trio of Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick and Gregg Hale.
Dylan Clark, a genre filmmaker with a sizeable following in the YouTube horror space, is helming the project from a script by Chris Thomas Devlin, following in the footsteps of Backrooms. Blumhouse and Atomic Monster’s Jason Blum and James Wan are producing with Roy Lee, Adam Hendricks, and Greg Gilreath.
Released in 1999, The Blair Witch Project is presented as a found-footage pseudo-documentary in which three young students hike into the Appalachian Mountains near Burkittsville, Maryland, to shoot a documentary about a local myth known as the Blair Witch. It starred Heather Donahue, Williams, and Joshua Leonard, and become one of the most commercially successful indie films of all time, grossing US$250 million worldwide against a US$35,000 budget (before marketing costs).
The global haul now stands at US$492 million, with a 2000 sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and the 2016 Blair Witch remake failing to match its initial success. It’s unclear whether the upcoming reboot will tie into any of the existing lore, but who knows – maybe fourth time’s the charm?
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
