‘The Craft: Legacy’ Director Zoe Lister-Jones Made One Major Change From the Original

The Craft was a rallying cry for many children of the ’90s. Many young people who did not fit into one of society’s boxes related to the four teenage girls who discovered the powers of witchcraft. Zoe Lister-Jones hopes The Craft: Legacy can be that rallying cry for 2020. She wrote and directed the new movie about four new teen witches. 

Lister-Jones spoke with reporters on a conference call. She shared the one major difference she wanted The Craft: Legacy to have from the original. The Craft: Legacy is now available on Premium VOD.

‘The Craft: Legacy’ changes one thing 

In the original The Craft, power goes to Nancy (Fairuza Balk)’s head and ultimately tears the four friends apart. Lister-Jones wanted The Craft: Legacy to show that power doesn’t have to corrupt.

“I’m a huge fan of the original but it was really important to me to create a story in which young women weren’t turning against each other, one in which they were upholding and uplifting each other,” Lister-Jones said. “The message was really that the power of women in community is the greatest power we can harness. I really wanted to put the message out into the universe that women are so strong when we are in community,”

‘The Craft’ was not the only film about power corrupting 

Lister-Jones acknowledges The Craft’s role in uplifting women, as well. It certainly was not the only film in which powerful women ended up opposed to each other. However, she wanted The Craft: Legacy to be a source of change.

So often we’ve seen in media, and especially with stories around young women gaining supernatural powers, that those powers ultimately overwhelm them and they’re spun out of control. They learn that that power is dangerous. I wanted to subvert that messaging in this story and create a narrative that actually was about young women who could not only step into their power but who could grow to understand that no power is too great for them, especially when they harness it together.”

Zoe Lister-Jones, conference call for The Craft: Legacy, 10/24/2020

‘The Craft: Legacy’ also employed more women than ‘The Craft’

The Craft gave Balk, Robin Tunney, Neve Campbell and Rachel True great roles. As much as it meant to women, it was still written and directed by men. Not only does Lister-Jones write and direct, but she filled her crew with women too.

“On my debut feature, Band Aid, my crew was made up entirely of women,” Lister-Jones said. “So I brought a number of those women with me on The Craft: Legacy. My cinematographer, Hillary Spera, my production designer Hillary Gurtler, my producing partner Natalia Anderson and my editor, Libby Cuenin.”

The amount of women behind the scenes automatically gave The Craft: Legacy a different vibe.

“For me it’s very important in telling women’s stories to have a woman behind the lens,” Lister-Jones said. “I think it’s something that is all too rare in our industry and the intuition that Hillary brings to her craft is just so singular and we have such an incredible symbiosis as creators together. Yeah, our collaboration is always something that is both exciting and really nourishing for me.”