Blumhouse and Lionsgate are teaming up to produce a new film in the Blair Witch Project franchise, and there are already exciting updates about the movie. Debuting in 1999, The Blair Witch Project turned Hollywood on its ear when the extremely low-budget indie horror film took the world by storm. The pioneering found footage movie was shot on handheld camcorders and follows a group of young adults as they traverse the Maryland woods in search of the eponymous legend. What made the movie so memorable was that it had audiences guessing about what was real and what was fiction.

Of course, it was all fiction, but The Blair Witch Project quickly became one of the most profitable movies of all time when it earned millions of dollars on a budget that was reportedly below one million. Though the gimmick of found footage wasn't originated by Blair Witch, it helped kick off a movement in the 2000s that dominated horror for most of the decade. Ironically, Blumhouse burst on the scene with 2007's Paranormal Activity, which continued the found-footage trend to great success. Now, that same production company is coming full circle and will co-produce another Blair Witch Project movie.

Blumhouse's Blair Witch Project Latest News

The Original Film's Creators Lambast Blumhouse

The history of the Blair Witch Project franchise has been somewhat controversial, and the latest news sees the original film's creators speak out about Blumhouse's Blair Witch. Filmmakers Eduardo Sanchez and Dan Myrick brought the classic horror film to life back in 1999, but have largely been excluded from the franchise's development ever since. Speaking about their snubbing by Blumhouse on this latest take, Sanchez and Myrick were quick to describe it as "bittersweet."

"To be included again would be nice. Even if they don’t listen to us. Just to pick our brains," said Sanchez, but the seasoned filmmaker approached the process from an understanding place. Echoing those sentiments, Myrick doubled Sanchez when he said "They’re a business, and so we learned a trial by fire in that regard." Though the possibility is always on the table, it seems as if Sanchez and Myrick will not be included in the process of developing the new movie.

Read Sanchez and Myrick's comments here:

Myrick: It’s always a little bittersweet. I mean, Ed and I have always had subsequent ideas that expand on the universe and the world that was created for Blair. We’ve always thought that there’s a lot to mine in that whole universe.

Sanchez: Like Dan said, it is bittersweet. We still love the IP and we’ve been thinking about it for more than 25 years now. And again, we don’t expect to write and direct these movies. We understand how Hollywood works and they’re always looking for the shiny new object, the new filmmaker. And there’s a lot of super talented people out there that can make a great Blair Witch movie. To be included again would be nice. Even if they don’t listen to us. Just to pick our brains – and again, like Dan was saying, we have a little bit of a fan base that’s dedicated to the original movie and it would be good press for them to bring us back in. But, we’ll see what happens.

Myrick: Studios are not your friends. They’re a business, and so we learned a trial by fire in that regard. After that, it’s just the way the business operates. I mean, Lionsgate picked up the rights. They’ve made a couple of attempts at follow-up films that have been moderately successful, but we still hold on to the naive notion that there’s other Blair movies to explore that we feel would be valuable. Certainly to the audience, to the fans. Unfortunately, Lionsgate just hasn’t embraced that approach.

Sanchez and Myrick were not involved with any Blair Witch movies after the original.

Blumhouse's Blair Witch Project Is Confirmed

Details Revealed At CinemaCon 2024

It isn't yet known if the new Blair Witch Project movie will be found footage.

Amid a flurry of announcements from Lionsgate at 2024's CinemaCon, it was revealed that the studio is teaming up with Blumhouse to produce a new Blair Witch Project movie. Though almost nothing is known about the project, the two titanic companies coming together is a good sign. The project was described as a "new take" on the franchise which began in 1999 with the release of the eponymous film. Most details have yet to be disclosed, such as the film's director or its cast. Furthermore, it isn't yet known if the new Blair Witch Project movie will be found footage.

Who Is Making The New Blair Witch Project Movie?

Blumhouse & Lionsgate Will Co-Produce

Though no names are currently attached to the cast and no director has been hired yet, the two studios in charge of the production are no strangers to successful horror films. The Blair Witch Project movie will be a co-production between Blumhouse and Lionsgate, the former of which is best known for horror franchises like Paranormal Activity, The Purge, and the most recent Halloween trilogy. Though The Exorcist: Believer was a bit of a stumbling block, Blumhouse has proven to be able to bring classic series to life again, and turn them into blockbusters.

Furthermore, Lionsgate is also a studio that cut its teeth on horror, and though they have produced titanic movies like Twilight and The Hunger Games, horror has always worked well for them. 2004's Saw put Lionsgate on the map, and the studio has produced 10 movies in the series with an 11th coming soon. The pairing of the two studios suggests Lionsgate wants to capitalize on their ownership of the Blair Witch franchise, something they earned when buying out Artisan Entertainment in 2003.

The Blair Witch Franchise Explained

Three Movies Have Been Released Since 1999

The new Blair Witch movie isn't the first produced under the Lionsgate banner, and the mildly successful 2016 film Blair Witch continued the series after the abysmal first sequel in 2000. The Blair Witch Project was a cultural phenomenon in 1999, and the found-footage classic was quickly capitalized on with the release of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 in 2000. The sequel didn't live up to expectations when it was lambasted by critics and failed to become a blockbuster like its predecessor. This failure put the franchise on ice for more than a decade-and-a-half until 2016's Blair Witch.

The Blair Witch franchise includes:

The first film produced by Lionsgate took things back to basics by ignoring the continuity of Book of Shadows and instead picked up where the first movie left off. The found-footage threequel was not well liked by critics, but it turned a decent profit against its tiny budget. Now, less than a decade later, a fourth film is coming which will likely continue what was established in the 2016 movie. However, until more details are revealed, the new Blair Witch Project is shrouded in mystery.