A remake of the 1996 film The Craft has been in development for several years, but it looks to finally have some traction. Zoe Lister-Jones has been tapped to write and direct the project, which is now being produced by both Blumhouse and Sony.
Lister-Jones takes over from Honeymoon director Leigh Janiak, who’s vision for the project never quite came together. She will move on to give full focus to her upcoming Fear Street franchise. Lister-Jones’ debut film, the low budget Band Aid, was a hit, so it will be interesting to see what she can do with a studio project.
To show how different the movie climate was in 1996, The Craft – an original film revolving around high school witches that contains a lot of dark subject matter – was a box office hit, opening at #1 and making $55 million from a $15 million budget. The film starred Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk and Neve Campbell, featured a great soundtrack, and temporarily brought goth into the mainstream.
It’s hard to imagine the modern day Craft having that sort of impact, but a remake makes total sense. There’s a demand for more female-driven, female-helmed films after much of Hollywood’s antiquated ideas regarding gender were vanquished over the last few years thanks to the success of films such as Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman.
The four central roles should be sought after, so it will be worth tracking who gets cast. The Craft is a quintessential 90s film too, so one wonders whether it will be updated for contemporary times, or made with 90s nostalgia in mind. We’ll wait and see.
#Peace.Love.TheCraft
