Original Blair Witch team added to reboot after voicing outrage | The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project reboot will now have those involved with the original project getting credit as producers after voicing their disappointment.
The 1999 independent film was made for $35,000 but earned $248 million, becoming one of the most profitable films ever made.
In 2024, Lionsgate announced a new project with Blumhouse, the company behind popular films such as The Purge, Get Out and Five Nights at Freddy’s.
Those involved with the original film expressed dismay at not being included in the new version after previously being left out of the sequels in 2000 and 2016; both failed to recapture the critical or commercial success of the first film.
Joshua Leonard, one of the three leading actors of the film, sent “It’s 25 years of disrespect from people who pocket the lion’s share (pun intended) of the profits from OUR business, and it feels both disgusting and classless,” he said on Instagram.
Ben Rock, the film’s production designer, also in question they had “fallen under the radar” and suggested that, given that neither of the sequels had found an audience, it would be wise to involve the original creators in another venture.
according to Hollywood ReporterOn the new film, both Leonard and lead actor Michael C Williams will serve as executive producers, along with Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick, who served as the original directing team, and producer Gregg Hale.
Heather Donahue, who also starred in the original film, previously wrote for the Guardian when the 2016 sequel was released. “When I found out about the sequel, I did what any sane woman would do and drank some very good bourbon in a very nice bathtub, bringing tears to my eyes,” she wrote. “Nothing I do will surpass what I did at 24. My name and face will forever be someone else’s intellectual property.
However, Leonard added that he was contacted and asked what could be done to show that his work on the first film was appreciated. “They made sure my last name was not used anywhere,” he wrote. In the press materials, the protagonist goes looking for her “sister,” but they don’t use my name. For all the rumors that Hollywood is full of jerks and sharks, these guys were actually being considerate and genuinely worried that this wouldn’t disrupt my life any more than was inevitable.
The new film, which is promised to “reintroduce this horror classic for a new generation”, will be directed by Dylan Clark, who has previously made horror short films. Clark is also getting ready to do something adaption One of the short films produced by Jordan Peele and Sam Raimi.
