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Warning: This article contains major The Craft: Legacy spoilers. Surely you knew that when you clicked on it, right?
Blumhouse’s The Craft: Legacy was dubbed a “standalone sequel” to the hit 1996 supernatural teen movie The Craft, but it feels more like a loose remake—until the film’s final moments, which comes with a plot twist and a cameo appearance from OG star Fairuza Balk as Nancy Downs, which is sure to be a thrill for fans of the original coven. The Craft: Legacy is now available to rent or buy on-demand, it’s a fun watch, and you’ll want to watch it yourself to get the full experience. But for now, here’s a quick rundown of Nancy’s surprise appearance in The Craft: Legacy.
What is The Craft: Legacy plot?
Though not technically a remake, The Craft: Legacy hits many of the same beats of the original: Lily (Cailee Spaeny) is a new girl at school after she and her mom (Michelle Monaghan) move in with her mom’s boyfriend Adam (David Duchovny) and his two sons.
At her new school, Lily meets three girls named Frankie (Gideon Adlon), Tabby (Lovie Simone), and Lourdes (Zoey Luna) who are looking for a “fourth” to practice witchcraft. Luckily, Lily is a natural-born witch. After the girls save her from a guy named Timmy (Nicholas Galitzine) who is being a total creep, she joins their coven, and they start practicing witchcraft together. Witchy shenanigans ensue, but none are particularly relevant to the big plot twist of the film: Lily finds out she was adopted.
What is The Craft: Legacy plot twist? What is The Craft: Legacy ending, explained?
Lily realizes she was adopted after she finds her adoption papers in her mother’s room. Her mom, Helen, explains that Lily’s birth mother made her swear never to tell Lily the truth. “She had undergone some trauma,” Helen says. “I was assigned to her at the crisis center.”
That’s all we learn for now, but at the very end of the film, after the witches defeat the big bad, Lily visits her birth mother at the crisis center. And yep, you guessed it: Lily’s birth mother is played by Fairuza Balk, who played Nancy Downs in The Craft (1996).
Is Nancy in The Craft: Legacy? Was that really Fairuza Balk? What does this mean?!
The scene lasted less than a minute, and she only has one line (“Can I help you?”), but yes, Nancy is in The Craft: Legacy. And yes, that really was Fairuza Balk, according to the film’s credits. As to what this might mean—that’s not yet clear. Currently, no plans for a sequel to The Craft: Legacy have been announced, but obviously, we have questions. Namely: Who is Lily’s father?! Nancy, of course, was sent to a psychiatric ward at the end of The Craft, but we don’t know what she’s been up to for the past two decades. For now, we’ll just have to consult the tea leaves for answers.
