Exclusives
Eduardo Sanchez Updates Return of the ‘Blair Witch’
Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick broke onto the scene back in 1999 when Artisan released The Blair Witch Project unto the world. Banking nearly $250 million worldwide boxoffice, a sequel was quickly rushed into production that failed to make it past $50 million across the globe. Since then, rumors of a third film have freely floating out of the director’s mouths.
Following the premiere of Lovely Molly, Bloody Disgusting’s Fred Topel caught up with Sanchez who revealed new info on the long-gestured sequel that will bring back many of the original film’s actors. The real question is: with found footage being the new “cool,” why the hell hasn’t Lionsgate pushed this guy off the ground? Maybe this is the year…
In Sanchez’s ouvre, the ‘Blair Witch’ creator confirmed he is ready to make a third film to bring the series back from ‘Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2.’ “It’s completely up to Lionsgate,” Sanchez said. “Dan and I are ready to do it. We’ve been toying around with a sequel idea that we really like. It’s just a matter of getting our schedules in line and having Lionsgate sign off on the idea. We’ve been ready to do a ‘Blair Witch’ movie for a long time. We’re as close as we’ve ever been to making it happen but it’s still not a guaranteed thing.”
Sanchez and Myrick’s idea would basically ignore the Joe Berlinger sequel. “I actually liked the sequel but at the same time it exists in a world outside of the movie. So if we want to do a sequel to ‘Blair Witch Project,’ we have to stay in that world, which ‘Book of Shadows’ didn’t stay in that world. ‘Book of Shadows’ created a different world. It’s like if the sequel to ‘Jaws’ started with shots of people lined up to see ‘Jaws’ in the movie theater. For ‘Book of Shadows’ it worked in a certain way but to me my biggest gripe with Artisan was you shouldn’t have called it ‘Blair Witch 2.’ It would’ve been fine to call it Blair Witch Chronicles. It wasn’t really a sequel to our movie. so it would be a direct sequel to our film living in that mythology of Burkittsville, being possessed, haunted by something.”
Now that found footage is passé, a ‘Blair Witch 3’ would update the storytelling by evolving from the “film student in the woods” style of the original. “Right now, the idea has no first person in it at all, but we’ll see,” Sanchez said. “There’s always room for new ideas to come in.”
Expect Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams to make a comeback too, though not as the leads. “The plan is to have them [back],” Sanchez revealed. “They’re probably not going to be the main characters but they’re definitely characters in the sequel.”
That means the sequel may answer questions about the original’s ambiguous ending. It certainly can’t be a flashback if the actors are all 10 years older now. “No, it’s not.”
Exclusives
New Documentaries Explore the Cult Legacies of ‘The Keep’ and ‘Wolfen’; Watch the Trailers Now [Exclusive]
Undersung werewolf gem Wolfen and Michael Mann’s The Keep get the spotlight in a pair of feature documentaries acquired by Antenna Releasing.
A World War II Fairy Tale, which covers the infamous production of and reception to The Keep, will receive a limited theatrical release in October, followed by a TVOD release on Apple/Amazon. The Keep will also screen as a double feature for some showings.
For Uncovering Wolfen, Antenna eyes a limited theatrical release for 2027. Both films are currently available for booking via Antenna prior to their theatrical and digital releases.
Both documentaries are directed by Stewart Buck, who co-helms with Stéphane Piter on A World War II Fairy Tale.
“We at Antenna are obsessed with film history,” said Chief Acquisitions Officer Billy Ray Brewton. “Stewart has done such a remarkable job of really diving into the deepest recesses of how these films were made and, in doing so, has created the definitive histories of both projects.”
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Antenna Releasing!” said director Buck. “It’s refreshing to see a filmmaker-friendly approach to distribution with people who know what it’s like to be in the trenches with independent projects that struggle to find a home in the crowded marketplace.”
Check out our exclusive trailer and poster reveal of both documentaries below.
Released in 1983, Michael Mann’s The Keep was a notorious box office bomb, critically lambasted and all but forgotten for years, save for the fascination with Tangerine Dream’s iconic score. In recent years, the film has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence and is widely considered a cult classic, though director Michael Mann and many cast members refuse to acknowledge it.
Wolfen, on the other hand, was critical success but was overshadowed heavily by its flashier 1981 siblings An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. It’s also a trailblazer for socio-political horror, and the doc will explore that via the craftspeople who made it.
Look for them both in theaters soon. Stay tuned for more as it arrives.
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