Upcoming Blair Witch Project sequel set to launch in 2027

Lionsgate has revealed that the fourth installment of the Blair Witch franchise is set to hit theaters on September 24, 2027. In line with a growing trend, the film will be helmed by Dylan Clark, a horror YouTuber who has transitioned into feature filmmaking. While specific plot details remain under wraps, it has been confirmed that this will not be a remake of the original.

This sequel, a collaboration between Lionsgate and Blumhouse, was first announced in April 2024, with Clark officially taking the director’s chair in April 2026. This announcement came just before Blumhouse’s recent hits, Obsession and Backrooms, took the box office by storm, raking in hundreds of millions against modest budgets. The success of these films was largely fueled by Gen Z audiences, who spread the word through social media and word-of-mouth.

These two low-budget horror films share similarities with the 1999 classic, The Blair Witch Project, which grossed nearly $250 million on a budget of less than $1 million. The original film remains one of the highest-grossing independent films ever, thanks in large part to a viral marketing strategy that presented its footage as real. The campaign included an official website with missing-person posters, fake police reports, and staged interviews, which successfully misled some viewers into believing the events were genuine.

The original Blair Witch was followed by several sequels that didn’t quite capture the same magic. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 was released a year later but received a lukewarm reception both at the box office and from critics. Adam Wingard’s 2016 entry, which focused on YouTube culture, also struggled to make an impact. The franchise has since expanded into video games, books, comics, and more.

Dylan Clark faces a significant challenge ahead. The original film capitalized on its cultural relevance through its unique fear factor and found-footage style, but that approach has only worked once for the series so far. Clark is also busy adapting two of his short films for the big screen: Portrait of God with Universal and Story Time with LD Entertainment.

For the untitled fourth Blair Witch film, the screenplay will be penned by Chris Thomas Devlin (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 2023). Blumhouse’s subsidiary Atomic Monster, fresh off co-producing Backrooms, will join Lionsgate in co-producing this project. The original creators, Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick, and Gregg Hale, will serve as executive producers, alongside original cast members Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams.