The Craft was supposed to get a true sequel, but those plans have been halted. It was rumored earlier this week that Blumhouse had trashed the idea of a follow-up instead going the remake route. That has now been confirmed, as Columbia Pictures partners with Jason Blum for this redo about four high school witches whose power grows a little out of control.
As stated by the recent rumors, it is now confirmed that Zoe Lister Jones is going to write and direct this contemporary retelling of the 90s horror classic The Craft. The previous synopsis for the remake sounded like it was hitting all the same notes as the original. And it won’t go the gender-swap route, which is a popular trend in Hollywood. But that seems reserved solely for boy franchises. These witches will remain female.
When starting at a new school, Hannah befriends Tabby, Lourdes, and Frankie and quickly becomes the fourth member of their clique. Hannah soon learns that she somehow brings great power to the quartet.
Some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent. The original 1996 version starred Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell and Rachel True, who have recently been reuniting at various horror conventions. They played four witches in training who must also navigate the perils of high school. They spend all their free time as amateur trash witches, but this deadly hobby gets out of hand when they aren’t able to control the powers of the occult.
Columbia Pictures and Producer Jason Blum will split the tab on the movie, which should come in under budget, which Blumhouse has become famous for. No matter what, the remake will generate some cash for the studios. Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher’s Red Wagon Entertainment are also on as producers. Lucas Wiesendanger is executive producing alongside original The Craft director Andrew Fleming, who will steer the ship in the right direction, keeping fans as happy as he can with this new take.
Related: The Craft 2 Takes Place 20 Years After the Original Movie
The Craft sequel had been in development since 2015, and the idea was to bring back the four original girls while introducing some new hags to the clique. Leigh Janiak was at one time hired to write and direct that version, building a true franchise out of The Craft. Her work is mostly being wiped clean for a fresh start.
Zoe Lister-Jones got her start as an actress. She wrote and starred in the Fox Searchlight drama Lola Versus. She also worked on Breaking Upwards and made her director debut with Band Aid. She has appeared in a number of TV shows, showing up for one off roles. She appeared in the Angelina Jolie action thriller Salt and starred opposite Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in The Other Guys. She has also had recurring roles in the hit Fox sitcom New Girl and the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces. It’s very possible that she could take up a role in The Craft. But the main four girls will be high school age. This news first appeared at The Hollywood Reporter.
