Original Blair Witch star explains why she's staying out of the rebooted woods

With yet another reboot of The Blair Witch Project on the way, producers Jason Blum and James Wan appeared on the IndieWire podcast Screen Talk to hype the film, which comes out next year. As a gesture of good faith, Wan spoke to how much it mattered to him to receive the blessings of “all the original people that were involved in the original Blair Witch.” It’s no secret that the trio of stars from the 1999 indie, Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams, have had a hard time getting paid for their contributions to one of the most successful horror films ever. In the run-up to the reboot’s announcement, they publicly petitioned Lionsgate for retroactive residuals and “meaningful consultation on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc,” which bears their name or likeness. It’s a situation not unlike one that Obsession‘s art director is fighting; the cast of the original never received anywhere near the compensation a hit film should pay out. To his credit, Wan successfully enlisted stars Leonard and Williams, writer-directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, and producer Gregg Hale as executive producers on the film. Where was the star of The Blair Witch Project? She’s staying out of it.