Blumhouse Productions has been on one hell of a hot streak as of late. Not only does it have a Halloween sequel slated for next year, with Jamie Lee Curtis expected to be back as Laurie Strode, but it also stealthily announced a Black Christmas remake that’s supposed to be released this December.
That doesn’t mean its previously announced backlog isn’t a priority, as we see in the recent news that writer/director Zoe Lister-Jones’ remake of The Craft has found its lead actress. And it’s none other than Bad Times at the El Royale’s Cailee Spaeny, who's in negotiations to join the flick.
Playing this new reimagining’s central character, Spaeny’s character, Hannah, is the new girl who falls in with the wrong crowd. Creating the coven of young witches that make The Craft a tale of magical abilities gone horribly wrong, Hannah and her witchy friends will start out with minorly mischievous intentions.
But as any aspiring magic user from fictions past will tell you, it naturally leads to all hell breaking loose. As of yet, Cailee Spaeny, also known as one of the leads in Pacific Rim: Uprising, is the only actress being lined up for The Craft’s cast, with a July start date being mentioned by THR in its reporting.
With her surprisingly chilling turn in Bad Times at the El Royale as a twisted disciple of Chris Hemsworth’s charismatic cult leader, it may not be a safe bet to think that Spaeny’s Hannah will be the innocent lead that Robin Tunney’s Sarah was. If Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions banner are known for anything, it’s shaking up the status quo and taking a remake/reboot as an opportunity to set things right.
So with that in mind, we could see The Craft focusing in on the bad seed of the group for a change, with the outcome possibly tilting towards her favor. We won’t really know just yet, as the other leads haven’t been announced, and Zoe Lister-Jones’ vision for a newer breed of witch might just be more vicious than the 1996 original.
It should also be noted that this remake of The Craft is different from the version that Sony was previously developing. While that project’s fortunes seemed to flourish slowly, but surely, over the past couple of years, Blumhouse Productions’ variation won out. Though the project is still set up with Columbia Pictures, which firmly keeps this film under the Sony umbrella that gave director Andrew Fleming’s ’96 original its big start to becoming a cult classic.
Cailee Spaeny’s casting is just the start of The Craft’s latest news cycle, as with July approaching ever faster, that impending start date will only accelerate the wheels of motion. Whomever steps into the circle with her will definitely be an interesting bit of news to pursue; and as soon as we’ve found out who else is ready to believe in magic, you’ll hear it from CinemaBlend when it breaks.
There is no release date set for The Craft remake just yet, but if you’re looking to scare up some fun, you can head to our 2019 release schedule and see what’s ready to haunt.
