It seems like only yesterday when we wandered into local art-house theaters to see a little film called The Blair Witch Project and bore witness to the birth of a new genre and cult phenomenon. I consider myself among the lucky who got to see the film before the wide release and before it was common knowledge that the footage wasn’t real. Call me naive but I believed everything I saw and it scared the bejesus out of me. It ranks near the top of my list of all time best theatrical experiences. However you feel about the film it was definitely a milestone in the horror genre. That was twelve years ago if you can believe it. Since then found-footage movies have become as common as teen sex romps and Saw sequels. Some have worked (Paranormal Activity) and some haven’t (Quarantine). I think it is safe to say the genre is here to stay for a while.

Sadly, depending on how you felt about the Blair Witch Project, the franchise died as quickly as it was born thanks to the not-quite-terrible but not-really-great-either “sequel” was rushed out and ruined the whole mythology. Book of Shadows had moments (and gave the world Jeffrey Donovan) but overall it was a failure. Director Eduardo Sanchez had mentioned on a few occasions that they were working on a prequel that told the story of Elly Kedward and I was definitely on board with the idea. Then it fizzled and died as well.

Now there is a distinct rustling the woods around Burkittsville as Sanchez reveals to Bloody Disgusting that a third film is finally in the works. Here is what he had to say:

“It’s completely up to Lionsgate,” Dan [Myrick] and I are ready to do it. We’ve been toying around with a sequel idea that we really like. It’s just a matter of getting our schedules in line and having Lionsgate sign off on the idea. We’ve been ready to do a ‘Blair Witch’ movie for a long time. We’re as close as we’ve ever been to making it happen but it’s still not a guaranteed thing.”

Sanchez went on to say that the sequel, which would ignore the world created by Book of Shadows and go back to the core, would not contain any found footage. He also said that stars Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Josh Leonard will probably make an appearance. I’ll admit I’m curious about that bit since they are presumed to be dead or something. I for one would like to see something done with the image of the Blair Witch created by Todd McFarlane.

The original film made 250 million at the box office so I think there is an audience for it and I know I’ll be first in line if this thing gets made. I have a stick-man hanging from my rear-view mirror for goodness sakes. I’ve been waiting on this for years! And I’m sure the people of Burkittsville are ready for a new influx of tourists looking for random rock piles and stick men? Right?

You can read the whole interview over at bloodydigusting.com.