Get ready to play “light as a feather/stiff as a board” all over again. After the incredible success of the Halloween sequel/reboot last year, horror hit maker Blumhouse is bringing back another iconic property from yesteryear, as Deadline reports that Zoe Lister-Jones, best known for the indie films Lola Versus and Breaking Upwards, is writing and directing a brand new version of the witchy cult classic The Craft.
UPDATE, 09/19/2019 – An updated Deadline report reveals the remainder of The Craft cast. The Society’s Gideon Adlon, Greenleaf actress Lovie Simone, and Pose newcomer Zoey Luna will join Cailee Spaeny to complete the leading roles for the progressively diverse remake of the 1996 witch classic.
The Craft has its coven! The movie, written, directed and produced by @ZoeListerJones, has cast Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone and Zoey Luna to join the witchy, wonderful reimagining of the iconic ‘90s film. pic.twitter.com/qa4JxYGtyL
— Blumhouse (@blumhouse) September 19, 2019
UPDATE, 6/24/2019 – Per The Hollywood Reporter, The Craft has found its first witch: Cailee Spaeny, the 21-year-old actress who has thus far starred in such films as Pacific Rim: Uprising and Bad Times at the El Royale, is in talks to play one of the lead characters in the developing remake.
5/29/2019 – The original film came out in 1996, and starred Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Rachel True, Neve Campbell, Christine Taylor, and Skeet Ulrich. The film predated the Campbell/Ulrich duo’s other horror classic Scream by several months. The original version told the story of a Catholic prep high school student who falls in with a trio of girls who practice witchcraft, and who cast spells on their bullies. But when one of the girls goes rogue and turns the other girls against Campbell, all here breaks loose.
The Craft’s success not doubt helped birth to the WB series Charmed about two years later, and other witchy-themed movies like Practical Magic. The current Netflix hit The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s trio of badass witches also owe a whole lot to The Craft.
Both Blumhouse and Columbia are co-financing the latest version of the pic. The original film’s director, Andrew Fleming, is also on board as a producer, so hopefully that means that this latest remake doesn’t stray too far from what made the original film such an enduring cult classic.
There aren’t many details about this reboot, although we are hoping this is another “legacy sequel,” and keeps the events of the original film in continuity, allowing some of the original cast to return. Here’s hoping that this new version of The Craft casts the same spell as the original!
Images: Sony
