Blumhouse & Lionsgate Teaming For New Blair Witch Project Movie

The Blair Witch is back in the woods, with Blumhouse and Lionsgate teaming up for a new film in the franchise. The two studios announced at CinemaCon on Tuesday (per Deadline) that they are partnering on a multi-picture deal that will see Blumhouse reimagine horror classics from Lionsgate’s film library.

First on the list is The Blair Witch Project, as announced by Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Adam Fogelson and Jason Blum. Blum will team up with Roy Lee, who produced the 2016 Blair Witch film to produce the new movie.

“I have been incredibly fortunate to work with Jason many times over the years. We forged a strong relationship on The Purge when I was at Universal, and we launched STX with his film The Gift. There is no one better at this genre than the team at Blumhouse,” said Fogelson. “We are thrilled to kick this partnership off with a new vision for Blair Witch that will reintroduce this horror classic for a new generation. We couldn’t be more pleased to be working with them on this and other projects we look forward to revealing soon.”

“I’m very grateful to Adam and the team at Lionsgate for letting us play in their sandbox. I’m a huge admirer of The Blair Witch Project, which brought the idea of found footage horror to mainstream audiences and became a true cultural phenomenon,” said Blum. “I don’t think there would have been a Paranormal Activity had there not first been a Blair Witch, so this feels like a truly special opportunity and I’m excited to see where it leads.”

The Blair Witch Project released in 1999 and became a blockbuster, grossing $248.6 million worldwide against a budget of just $200,000 to become the most profitable movie of all time at that point. The film brought the found footage format to the mainstream after previous films in the genre like Cannibal Holocaust and The Last Broadcast set the stage.

There have been two previous sequels for Blair Witch Project. The first, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, was rushed into production by Artisan Entertainment and was both a critical flop and commercial disappointment. The second was Adam Wingarde’s 2016 film Blair Witch, which received better reviews than Book of Shadows and was more profitable although it was still considered by many to have a disappointing return. Lionsgate and Blumhouse’s announcement did not address whether the previously-reported new sequel, which was reported last year, will still move forward. The Offering’s Oliver Park was on board to direct that film.