Summary

• The Blair Witch reboot can deepen the franchise's mythology without altering the original film's impact.
• Exploring the origin of the witch Elly Kedward in 1785 could provide a fresh approach.
• The Blair Witch Project's ambiguous ending can coexist with a prequel reboot.

The announcement of a reboot of the The Blair Witch Project, directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. The Blair Witch Project introduced viewers to Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard, three filmmaking students who went into the forest to make a documentary about the local myth of the Blair Witch.

Despite the many warnings the group got from the locals about the forest and the witch, they ventured into it, but they soon found themselves surrounded by a strange presence that led to their disappearance. The success of The Blair Witch Project was massive and led to a media franchise with two sequels that couldn’t match the quality and success of the original movie. Now, eight years after the release of Blair Witch, the franchise is being rebooted, and though this has already sparked controversy, the new film has the perfect way to expand the franchise’s mythology without changing the first movie.

Blair Witch Reboot Can Explore The Origins Of The Legend Of The Witch

The Legend Of The Witch Wasn’t Fully Told In The Blair Witch Project

The Blair Witch Project doesn’t offer a full explanation of who the Blair Witch was and what she wanted, and this could be the reboot’s path.

At the beginning of The Blair Witch Project, Heather, Mike, and Josh interview town residents about the mythical Blair Witch and share some of the information they gathered before their trip. However, The Blair Witch Project doesn’t offer a full explanation of who the Blair Witch was and what she wanted, and this could be the reboot’s path. Details about the new Blair Witch movie are currently unknown, with the only details revealed so far being that Lionsgate and Blumhouse are teaming up to make it happen and that the film is being described as a “new take” on the franchise.

A “new take” can mean many things and can change as the movie goes further into development, but the reboot’s perfect solution is exploring the legend of the Blair Witch. The legend of the witch was published on the movie’s official website and was explored in the mockumentary Curse of the Blair Witch, but the reboot can go further by showing what really happened. According to Sánchez and Myrick, the witch was Elly Kedward, a Blair resident accused of witchcraft in 1785 and sentenced to death by exposure, but she was also hung from a tree with stones tied to her limbs.

A year after Kedward’s death, those who accused her and half the town’s children vanished, and so the legend of the Blair Witch was born. The new Blair Witch movie can properly tell Elly Kedward’s story, what she did, the accusations, and the impact of her death, as well as whether she was truly responsible for all those disappearances or not.

The Origins Of The Witch Can Still Leave The Blair Witch Project’s Ending Ambiguous

A Prequel Reboot Film Doesn’t Have To Change The Blair Witch Project

Even if the new movie confirms there was a witch at some point, that doesn’t mean that it was her presence in the woods that led to the group's disappearance.

If the Blair Witch reboot explores the origin of the witch and how she became a legend, this doesn’t have to affect The Blair Witch Project. In the latter, the witch is never seen, which has made viewers question if she was real or not, if it was someone else messing with the group, or if they let the legends mess with their heads. Because of this, even if the new movie confirms there was a witch at some point, that doesn’t mean that it was her presence in the woods that led to the group getting lost, Josh disappearing, and Michael and Heather’s possible deaths.

The new Blair Witch movie won’t be able to replicate what made The Blair Witch Project so great, as it was a genius combination of incredible marketing and the found footage technique, which truly sold the idea of the footage being real. However, the new movie can find success in expanding on certain elements from the franchise, and it doesn’t have to remake or imitate the original movie.