Could a new ‘The Blair Witch Project’ make right the sins of the sequels?

What is the scariest horror subgenre? While it’s impossible to say for certain — fear is subjective after all — found footage is certainly a strong contender. Stripping away the cinematic feel of Hollywood films in favor of raw videos that directly place viewers in the perspective of “real people” experiencing seemingly real horrors, found footage films are in a unique position to effectively frighten audiences. 

The most notorious example is The Blair Witch Project. Released in 1999, it follows three film students shooting a documentary about the Blair Witch. They end up filming their final moments, disappearing in the very woods where their footage was found one year later. It became one of the most profitable movies ever made, and shot the found footage subgenre into the cultural zeitgeist upon its release.

Back in 2024, it was revealed at CinemaCon that Lionsgate and Blumhouse were working on a brand new Blair Witch film. This came as part of a multi-film deal between the two companies that sees Blumhouse reimagining the horror classics of Lionsgate. Shortly afterwards, those involved with the original film expressed their frustrations about being excluded from its sequels.

Joshua Leonard, who starred in the original with Michael C. Williams and Heather Donahue, said that there had been “25 years of disrespect from the folks who’ve pocketed the lion’s share (pun intended) of the profits from OUR work, and that feels both icky and classless.”

“Neither one of the sequels connected with audiences the way they wanted it to connect,” said Ben Rock, the original film’s production designer. “And so it might at least be worth talking to some of the original creators.”

But Blumhouse’s new take on the series seeks to rectify this decision. An announcement from The Hollywood Reporter last week revealed that Leonard and Williams will both serve as executive producers on the new film. Joining them is the original film’s directing team, Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick, and Gregg Hale. 

Deadlineconfirmed the news, adding that filming is being lined up for this fall with a budget in the $10 million range. The film’s plot details are currently under wraps.

“Nothin’ but gratitude,” tweeted Williams in response. That’s not all he had to say about the new film, “Oh, yeah, it’s not a ‘remake’. You just wait. The Witch is back…”

This new take on the found footage classic will be directed by Dylan Clark, who is also rewriting the script originally written by Chris Thomas Devlin. Clark recently gained traction following the release of his short-film Portrait of God in 2022, which he will be adapting to a full-length feature produced by Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele. Devlin previously wrote Cobweb (2023) and Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022).

Other producers on the new Blair Witch Project movie are Atomic Monster’s James Wan, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum, Roy Lee, as well as Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath for Divide/Conquer. Atomic Monster also has Michael Clear and Judson Scott serving as executive producers, with Alayna Glasthal overseeing for the company. Lionsgate has Scott O’Brien and Pavan Kalidindi overseeing too, while Phil Strina negotiated the deal on the studio’s behalf. Steven Schneider is an executive producer on the movie as well.

Lionsgate is expected to distribute in North America and the UK. The studio, alongside Blumhouse, will launch international sales at the Cannes film market this month.