The Blair Witch Project reboot is moving forward with support from some of the cast and crew behind the original film.
For years, Hollywood has tried to recapture the found-footage horror magic of The Blair Witch Project in different ways. Multiple sequels have been made with little to no success, and other filmmakers have tried to emulate its ideas with new franchises like Paranormal Activity. Now, Lionsgate is going to take another crack at The Blair Witch Project with a “new imagining,” though it’s unclear if it will have any explicit connections to the original film.
Lionsgate confirmed that the original film’s directors, Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick, and producer Gregg Hale have boarded the project as executive producers. They’ll also be joined by two of the film’s original stars, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams, who will executive produce as well. Dylan Clark, most famous for several short horror films that have gone viral on YouTube, will direct the script penned by Chris Thomas Devlin, who wrote Cobwebs (2023) and Netflix’s 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The original film’s lead star, Rei Hance (formally known as Heather Donahue), is noticeably absent from this team. The star stepped away from acting almost 20 years ago and has largely distanced herself from the Blair Witch franchise since then. The original cast for the film was paid around $1,000 for an eight-day shoot as the groundbreaking horror film produced on a shoestring budget. When the film went on to gross hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, the cast was sent a fruit basket rather than a fat royalty check.
The cast had been vocal about their frustrations with how they were treated after the original film’s release, and also spoke out about not being involved in the new film when it was announced in 2024. Lionsgate has made efforts to address their grievances, which is likely how Leonard and Williams became involved with the new reboot.
The Blair Witch Project reboot currently has no release date, and plot details are being kept under wraps.
