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Ten years since the last Blair Witch movie comes the news that there’s a new film in production.
Lionsgate and Atomic Monster announced that a new Blair Witch Project, based on the iconic found-footage horror movie of 1999, is scheduled for release in the fall of 2027.
The studios’ Instagram accounts revealed the release date in a short clip with the numbers “9 24 27” made out of twigs, alongside a classic stick figure from the original The Blair Witch Project.
Plot details have not been revealed, but Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson previously referred to the film as a “new vision” that will “reintroduce this horror classic for a new generation.”
Clearly wishing to achieve the same levels of success as this year’s Obsession and Backrooms, Dylan Clark, who also got his start on YouTube, will be in the director’s chair, working from a script by Chris Thomas Devlin.
Executive producers of the remake include the 1999 film’s creators Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick, and Gregg Hale, as well as original film cast members Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams.
The Blair Witch Project remains one of the most profitable films in Hollywood history.
Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, the 1999 horror film was pitched as a real documentary about a trio of college students who went missing in the woods while searching for evidence about a local legend called the Blair Witch.
The film became a phenomenon through an ingenious promotional campaign that successfully passed off the movie as a true documentary.
The critical reaction and favourable word of mouth made it one of 1999’s biggest hits and its success helped popularize the found footage horror subgenre – 19 years after Cannibal Holocaust.
The independent film was originally made for $35,000 (before marketing costs) and ended up grossing almost $250 million worldwide.
Acclaimed horror author Stephen King revealed that The Blair Witch Project “really got under my skin” in the documentary Chain Reactions, adding that he couldn’t finish watching it.
Despite The Blair Witch Project’s massive success, none of the subsequent attempts to continues the series have succeeded.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 was rapidly greenlit and came out in 2000. It flopped, and fans had to wait until 2016 for Blair Witch, which was a direct sequel to the original. While better received critically, it was another box office flop.
Will 2027 be the year the Blair Witch curse is broken?
The new Blair Witch Project movie is scheduled to premiere in theaters on 24 September 2027.