First in-depth story details emerge for Summit’s The Last Witch Hunter

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

Mere hours ago we learned WANTED director Timur Bekmambetov has been attached to Summit’s THE LAST WITCH HUNTER, with aspirations to produce as well as possibly direct. When it rains it mothaf*ckin’ pours, as evidenced by a lengthy, and I do mean lengthy, story breakdown for the film that’s just been served up by the kind cats at IESB. Wanna read this bastard? You know what the hell to do!

From IESB confidant Arthur Slugworth:

This all started long before our times, but for now we are starting in Manhattan, on a bus. An old woman wearing tattered clothing enters a bus and steals one strand of hair from the bus driver which she knots. The rest of the passengers can’t take their eyes off her. Suddenly the driver grabs at his chest before falling forward. The bus veers into traffic on the opposite side of the street and explodes into a ball of fire. The only survivor the mysterious woman, now with eyes of black.

This isn’t the only strange event, news reports indicate similar situations are popping up all over the city. This news doesn’t seem to faze one man as he enters what looks like an abandoned building. A pack of dogs salivate and bark in his direction. He enters the building to find moss and mold all over the place along with a huge never-ending hole in the floor.

Nude men are strewn all over the stairs covered with foreign symbols and carrying shovels.

The man continues to move forward and reaches the top floor, rats creeping at his feet. The stoic man, a gun in hand, kicks down a door to reveal almost white creatures with huge opal eyes. They speak in another language as they claw at the air. He breaks out a sword and an axe to combat their darts and strange black cursed flowers. From there he goes through his arsenal which also includes a chain gun and salt smoke. Finally he reaches a witch and finishes her off with one last bullet made of hemlock. She dissipates into dust. This is our first encounter with “Nightshade”, a witch hunter.

They have been walking among us since the beginning. They call themselves Haxen and are not the biggest fans of daylight. The witches abilities have brought a fear into the hearts of many Examples of this fear of witches can be found in historical events such as The Crusades and The Salem Witch Trials. This is why the Haxen have hid for many centuries and have broken up into what we know as covens. Each nationality has their own coven of witches, Hispanic “brujas” in the Bronx, and witches of African heritage in Harlem. The only one who has the ability to stop them is the immortal Nightshade.

Nightshade lost his wife and daughter long ago, their likeness survives with portraits in his inner sanctum. The witch hunter lives with Dmitri who creates the weapons that Nightshade uses. The old Yugoslavian also acts as Nightshade’s own personal doctor, which he needs. Weapons, herbs, and many compounds line the wall. Used to stop the Haven, who have been responsible for some of the world’s greatest disasters, natural disasters and even destruction seemingly caused by man. After stopping by his home for a quick session with Dmitri, Nightshade heads to Soho to check out a boutique run by Nadja. Nadja’s look is inspired by the sultry Megan Fox and is what is called a “Newbreed”. She looks more like a human and can actually blend into society.

Nadja doesn’t belong to a Coven and works alone. Nightshade and her have an understanding until he notices a closed door which he kicks in, finding an artifact that looks as if it is a section of something bigger. Nadja doesn’t take sides in Nightshade’s war with the Haven, but when her shop gets ambushed she unleashes her knives that she can control via spell. The battle between the intruding witches is immense and ends with one of them stealing the artifact. After Nadja and Nightshade defeat the witches, they realize they are minions of the Queen Witch Sithera.

A group of Newbreed witches, leaders from numerous Covens gathering in the shipyard that are quieted by the appearance of the Sithera…she resembles the provocative Angelina Jolie. The queen witch is attempting to get the tribes together to battle against mankind as one unit. She talks about The Plague Box which is broken into three parts and capable of unleashing a plague of epic proportions when joined together. The box was hidden but the reason that New York was built the way it was, was to allow the witches to locate this box. Sithera then shows her people the artifact stolen from Nadja’s and reassures them that Nightshade will be taken care of.

At this time, Nightshade and Nadja are hunting witches through Central Park and the subways. Only Central Park takes on the role of enchanted forest and the subways are more like labyrinths. Nadja and Nightshade are still uneasy of each other but are joined by their similar feelings of being alone. They break into New York Municipal to go over old maps of the city to attempt to find the rest of pieces that form The Plague Box. They find in the Slavic Coven under a bathhouse. Just as the duo arrive the Coven has intercepted the second piece. A battle ensues and Nadja snags the piece.

The battle continues on the street Chinatown and into a fireworks warehouse where the Asian Coven appears and battles the scythe tossing Slavics with stick pins. The battle pauses as blackbirds smash through the windows followed by Sithera, she turns the blackbirds on Nightshade as he draws his sword. They engulf him until Nadja steps in and eliminates the blackbirds. Sithera responds by joining the two pieces of The Plague Box together. Nightshade decides to protect Nadja in his sanctum after a curse is put on her by Sithera, hoping Dmitri can figure out a way to help her. Nightshade is on his own and enters the inner workings of the Brooklyn Bridge to find the final piece. He is greeted by a group of Coven outcasts and goes toe to toe with them as water enters the inner portions of the bridge. After finally obtaining the final piece he returns to his Sanctum to find Dimitri dead in a pool of blood with Nadja’s knife in his chest and Nadja herself gone. He is then overcome by Sithera’s Coven and blacks out.

Nadja awakes on Sithera’s ship where the box is now locked together. The plague that will be unleashed will only come down upon children. It is revealed that Nadja was put under a spell to work for as one of them. Back at the Sanctum, Nightshade wakes with Dimitri dead in his arms. He studies Dimitri’s notes and then adorns his thickest suit of armor and heads to the shipyard. He battles ghouls which are called Familiars on the creaky wooden docks. Then lights flood down and Nightshade is standing right in the middle of a Circle of Ash. She needed Nightshade, an immortal; he’s the key to unleashing the plague. As the box opens a vortex appears and kids immediately start getting sick.

Nadja wipes away some of the ash with her foot freeing Nightshade; she uses her nails to cut up her hands and his hands. Then presses them together in sort of an embrace. Nadja and Nightshade then fight, back to back, finally working as a team. Nightshade and Sithera square off and Nightshade gains the upper hand. He thrusts his sword into Sithera, knowing his possibility of becoming mortal and joining his wife and kid on the other side have died with her. All the witches around them turn to dust. The Plague Box sinks into the Hudson River and Nightshade and Nadja return to the destroyed Sanctum together.

Whew…a lot in there to digest. Were you brave enough to plow through all that shite? What’d ya think?

Since her name was mentioned, a Megan Fox pic can’t hurt!