Cult classic movies have a unique place in film history, as projects that might have failed at the box office gain popularity in the years after it release. For the 1990's, one major example of this trend is Andrew Fleming's 1996 classic The Craft. Moviegoers will get the chance to dive back into the witchy property with Zoe Lister-Jones' The Craft: Legacy, which is coming straight to homes in time for Halloween. The upcoming Blumhouse movie will break new ground in a variety of ways, including a more inclusive coven. And during a set visit for Legacy Lister-Jones explained why including a transgender witch was so important to the upcoming movie.
The Craft: Legacy is set in the same timeline as the original movie, but will feature a new cast of actors bringing the story to life. The new coven will include transgender actress Zoey Luna as bruja Lourdes, one of three established witches that welcomes newcomer Lily. I had the chance to visit the set of Legacy, where director/writer Zoe Lister-Jones revealed why including a trans story in the sequel was so important to her. As she put it,
We also have a trans witch, so there are some topics around trans inclusivity and intersectional feminism. I think the original was very much ahead of its time because it was intersectional in many ways. But I think including a trans voice in this group of young women was really important to me.
She's got a point. The Craft intertwines the issues of the original coven, including racism, self-image, and classism. But Legacy is set decades later, so Zoe Lister-Jones wanted the story of young women coming into their power to be rooted in contemporary conversations. And having a trans member of the coven helps move this story forward, and is also a step forward regarding onscreen inclusion.
Actress Zoey Luna is an up and coming actress who previously was seen in projects like FX's Pose. The trailer for The Craft: Legacy provided a limited amount of footage for The Craft: Legacy, but it should be interesting to see how Lourdes' story is handled in the project. As a reminder, you can check out said trailer below.
Later in her same conversation with press on the set of The Craft: Legacy, Zoe Lister-Jones went on to explain the type of story she was showing, specifically includes a diverse cast of young women coming into their power. In the director/writer of the project' words:
To me it’s just about showcasing young women in all of their glory. And in ways that we might not have seen before. And that is really about women in community supporting each other, rather than turning against each other. Which was also really paramount to me in this film as a theme.
Clearly Zoe Lister-Jones had a specific vision for how the women of The Craft: Legacy. This includes making sure that one of the protagonists was a transgender character, as well changing to the coven's group dynamic. Three of the witches in the 1996 original turned on Robin Tunney's Sarah, but the above quote seems to indicate that the story will go down differently. It seems the coven will be supporting each other more, so it'll be interesting to see exactly how the inevitable conflict goes down.
Luckily, it won't be long before questions surrounding The Craft: Legacy are answered. The movie's first trailer accompanied news that the project is heading straight to homes at the end of the month. And with the footage teasing a connection to Fairuza Balk's Nancy Downs, longtime fans of the original might be tuning in to see how the story is continues.
The Craft: Legacy will be released October 28th, heading straight to homes in the process. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.
