By Eve Buckland For Dailymail.Com
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69 View commentsA reboot of iconic found footage horror The Blair Witch Project has been announced - 25 years after the original film debuted.
Producer Jason Blum from horror production studios Blumhouse will revive the franchise for a 'new generation' - following the huge worldwide success of Blumhouse films including M3GAN, The Purge and Five Nights at Freddys.
Plot details have not been revealed, but Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson said the film marks a 'new vision for Blair Witch that will reintroduce this horror classic for a new generation' at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, per Variety.
Blum said: '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.
'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.'
A reboot of iconic found footage horror The Blair Witch Project has been announced - 25 years after the original film debuted (pictured)
Producer Jason Blum (pictured January) from horror production studios Blumhouse will revive the franchise for a 'new generation' - following the huge worldwide success of Blumhouse films including M3GAN, The Purge and Five Nights at Freddys
Fogelson added: '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. We couldn’t be more pleased to be working with them on this and other projects we look forward to revealing soon.'
The Blair Witch Project reboot will be the firstin a multi-picture agreement with Blumhouse reimagining horror classics for Lionsgate.
Blumhouse and Lionsgate have recently collaborated on thriller Imaginary which was released last month.
The Blair Witch Project redefined horror movies when it became a huge, unexpected hit upon its release in 1999.
The film follows the disappearance of three student filmmakers in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary on the local legend known as the Blair Witch.
It starredHeather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard playing fictionalizedversions of themselves.
Made on a tiny budget of $60,000, it became one of the most successful independent movies of all time after raking in $248.6 million at the box office.
The film follows the disappearance of three student filmmakers in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary on the local legend known as the Blair Witch
It starred Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (pictured) playing fictionalized versions of themselves
A pioneering promotional campaign saw it become the first widely released movie marketed primarily by internet, with the film's website boasting fake police reports and newsreel-style interviews.
It was followed byBook of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 in 2000 which received negative reviews from critics and grossed a worldwide total of $47.7 million.
In 2016Blair Witch was released which follows John, the brother of Heather Donahue.
He decides to head back to Burkittsville, though this time the film was actually shot in Canada instead of Maryland, after discovering footage from the original film.
Speaking to a friend, he says: 'The guy who uploaded this video says its from a tape he found in the Black Hills woods... I think that might be my sister.
And when his female friend shows she is skeptical about the soon--to-be fateful idea of investigating her disappearance
It was followed by Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 in 2000 which received negative reviews from critics and grossed a worldwide total of $47.7 million
In 2016 Blair Witch was released which follows John, the brother of Heather Donahue
'If there is any chance that I can find out what happened to her I need to try.'
So yet again, a Donahue sibling ropes in a group of college students to venture once into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland, the home of the Blair Witch legend.
Indeed many believe her Heather's disappearance 15 years previous is connected to the sinister urban myth, which is sadly only too true in the movie.
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