Second sequel to the granddaddy of found-footage may finally materialize
A second sequel to the 1999 indie-horror phenomenon The Blair Witch Project might be forthcoming. Eduardo Sanchez, who directed the groundbreaking original film along with Daniel Myrick, had the following to say about the project in an interview with Dread Central to discuss his latest project, Exists:
“We have been talking to Lionsgate and there has been a little bit of movement but nothing is concrete. The film seems inevitable to me, but really it’s just a matter of it being the right time. I’m thinking it’s going to happen sooner than later at this point, but I always say that. There’s always rumblings and certain ideas being pushed around and such. While I don’t have anything firm to talk about now, it wouldn’t surprise me if something happened within the next year or two.”
The first film blazed a trail back in its day, grossing an unheard-of $250 million worldwide on a budget of a scant $60,000, making it one of the most profitable films in history. In the process, it also reinvented the horror genre, pulling it away from the Scream clones that dominated the era and bringing the supernatural back into focus. It also singlehandedly birthed the found-footage subgenre that continues going strong today. However, it inspired a vicious backlash with audiences, and that coupled with the poisonous reaction to its quickie sequel, 2000’s Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, rendered the property toxic for well over a decade.
But in the Hollywood of today, brand names are everything, and Blair Witch remains a recognizable title that won’t just be left standing in the corner of some dank basement for eternity. Sanchez has teased the prospect of a third film for the better part of a decade, but perhaps now the time has finally come to summon the witch out of the woods.
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