Moviemaking is a funny thing. While audiences get to see the final product, it's a long and complicated process that sees each movie change and grow. And sometimes that means leaving A+ footage on the cutting room floor when editing. This is certainly true for Zoe Lister-Jones' The Craft: Legacy, which recently arrived straight to homes. And the director/writer recently explained losing one character from her Craft sequel entirely.
Last year I had the privilege of visiting the set of The Craft: Legacy alongside other journalists. During interviews with the cast and crew it was revealed that Zoey Luna's character Lourdes was a bruja, and that she learned magic from her abuela. Unfortunately that role was cut from the movie entirely, as seen when it arrived via video on demand this week. I spoke to director Zoe Lister-Jones after seeing The Craft: Legacy, and asked her about the devision to Lourdes' abuela from the final cut. As she explained,
It’s always so interesting, the filmmaking process in general. But there’s this saying that you write the film when you write the script, you re-write it when you shoot it, and then rewrite it when you edit it. And it’s always so interesting what ends up on the cutting room floor. Because these are scenes and characters that work so well in isolation. And then for some reason within the context of the film as a whole once you see it, sometimes you have to kill your darlings as they say. So that was one element that we did lose, which was tough.
As they say, that's show business. And while Lourdes' family was teased in our set visit and even made it into some promotional material for The Craft: Legacy, Zoe Lister-Jones had to unfortunately "kill her darling" in the form of the scrapped character. We'll just have to wait and see if deleted scenes are ever released which reveal more of Lourdes' backstory.
In The Craft: Legacy, Lourdes does seem like the most experienced with in the new coven. Zoey Luna's character is often advising the other women on how to practice safely, and the deleted scenes would reveal her family's history as brujas. Lourdes' abuela is even shown in trailers that have made it onto the movie's social media accounts. Check it out below.
In the end, this was a character that didn't make it into The Craft: Legacy's theatrical cut. Zoe Lister-Jones' magical movie from Blumhouse clocks in at brisk 90 minutes, so there certainly seems like time to include more backstory for the witches. But in the end, the filmmaker and company did what they thought was best for the long-awaited sequel.
While The Craft: Legacy was originally meant to have a theatrical run, the project ultimately arrives straight to homes. But Blumhouse treated audiences to the movie just in time for Halloween, which will likely contribute to its sale and rental numbers. We'll just have to wait and see if it does well enough for the studio to order a sequel.
The Craft: Legacy is available now on video on demand. Be sure to check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.
