‘The Craft’ Remake Could Be a Bruja Masterpiece!

The Craft remake is officially happening and a woman is set to be in charge of the project. Actress Zoe Lister-Jones will be writing and directing the remake of the 1996 film about four friends who turn to witchery after being outcasted by their classmates. We’re so excited about the remake of this movie, not because we don’t love the original but because this new version should (and must) be more inclusive and represent the bruja community.

The original, directed by Andrew Fleming (who will be involved in the remake), starred Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, and featured only one actress of color, Rachel True. As we know, witches come in all colors and brujas are a massive part of the community, so we can only hope and pray that this remake will sustain that. The producers behind the remake make me believe that it will, here’s why: Blumhouse Productions is behind the making of this new movie, and as you may recall, they are the studio that recently brought us Get Out and Halloween. They are a longtime horror film producing house. However, they’re certainly paying attention to recent box office numbers.

Filmmaker Jordan Peele, who wrote and directed Get Out, and his recent hit Us, is making a killing by creating works with black representation. His strategic placement of putting people of color in his movies is something that is not going away, and clearly what audiences want.

“I don’t see myself casting a white dude as the lead in my movie. Not that I don’t like white dudes,” he said this week during a talk at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. “But I’ve seen that movie.” According to the Hollywood Reporter, when Peele said that, the audience applauded and shouted in “agreement.” He went on to say, “It really is one of the best, greatest pieces of this story, is feeling like we are in this time — a renaissance has happened and proved the myths about representation in the industry are false.”

So here’s a note to Lister-Jones and everyone working on The Craft remake, we have seen the white version of this movie, let’s see what else you can bring to the table. Witches are not just white women, but black and brown people too. Rachel True, who played the only black witch in The Craft, has been coming for the media who have chosen to leave her name out of most conversations surrounding the movie she starred in. Earlier this year she tweeted, “I think it’s interesting these conventions are booking Neve, Fairuza &, Robin all together, but excluding me. Sounds about white.”

This week, as more buzz surrounded the remake, she said on Twitter, to the Reporter, “Is there any reason to not list me as one of the main actors in the original film @THR ?!?! You’ve listed a white supporting castmate who wasn’t 1 of the 4 main actors. For f*cks sake, do better.” The publication has since corrected it.

The point is: make The Craft an inclusive film. Represent witches and brujas as they are. And if you’re going to have the original cast in the movie (as most people on social media are asking for), you better have True all over it.

If you choose to ignore brujas or represent them incorrectly, look no further than what happened to the disaster film La Llorna. Audiences hated the lack of representation. They spoke their minds loud and clear, and the movie tanked. It would be unfortunate if the same happened with The Craft.