Director talks sequel, Possession and web-series ParaAbnormal
Since the original Blair Witch movie came out, filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez have always flirted with the idea of making Blair Witch 3 a prequel to the mythology they created. While an 18th Century period piece focusing on the witch hunt would make for an interesting follow-up, with the recently renewed interest in The Blair Witch Project stemming from the 10 year anniversary, the filmmakers are now thinking of a direct sequel rather than a prequel.
“We would still love to make that prequel idea,” Sánchez told Shock. “We actually talked to Lionsgate about it four or five years ago. But they were very hesitant to do a prequel, because itâs a period piece and they havenât had much luck with horror period pieces, and also the period wouldâve made it a bit too expensive.”
“However, right now, Dan (Myrick) and I are actually working on an idea for a Blair Witch sequel,” says Sánchez. “Itâs the first time that Dan and I have really gelled on an idea for a follow-up. We have a bunch of ideas for the prequel that date back to the beginning of the legend, but this is the first time weâve gotten together and really loved what weâre coming up with.”
There’s still a lot to be set up though before they can jump behind the cameras again. “The plan would be to go to Lionsgate within the next couple of months and see if theyâre interested,” he explains. “Itâs completely up to them. They own the franchise. But weâre getting a lot of incredibly supportive feedback from lots of people saying “Hey, if (Lionsgate) donât want to finance it, call me and Iâll write the check.””
“Thereâs plenty of different options here,” he continues. “Hopefully Lionsgate will get excited and we can move forward on it. Weâll probably have some kind of news by the end of the year â either that thereâs nothing happening, or that weâre moving forward, or that weâre still talking to all the parties that are involved.”
There was recently a reunion screening of the original Blair Witch Project here in LA at the Egyptian Theater last month. We asked Sánchez what it was like to re-experience the film on the big screen with an audience again. “I didnât get to go,” he confesses. “My wife was pregnant and my son literally came two days before that screening. So I was here on the East coast. It wouldâve been cool to see the movie with an audience again, but thereâs actually a bunch of screenings in October of Blair Witch. In November, itâs showing in Chicago and I think Iâm going to go up for that.”
Besides Seventh Moon, which hits DVD shelves on October 6th, Sánchez has been keeping busy with several other projects as well. “I did a webseries that I was executive producer on called ParaAbnormal,” he mentions. “Itâs over at ParaAbnormal.tv. Itâs a comedy, kind of a Ghosthunters parody and weâre getting a lot of positive feedback from it. That was just a lot of fun to make.”
As far as what’s next for the filmmaker? “I have a script that Iâm writing called Possession that is a low budget film,” he tells us. “I want to take the first person perspective â not that we necessarily started it, but that we brought to the forefront with Blair Witch and has been used in everything from Cloverfield to Paranormal Activity – I want to take that technique and introduce a new twist to it that I think people would really love.”
“Iâd like to take that genre, hopefully at least in my eyes, to the next level with this film,” he says. “Whether itâll works or not? I have no idea, but I think itâll make for a really creepy film and I think people will dig it.”
Sánchez’s latest movie Seventh Moon will be released on DVD October 6th via Ghost House Underground. Look for our full interview early next week!
Source: Robert Galluzzo
