Screenwriter Victor Miller was awarded the rights to the picture in the United States after he prevailed in a copyright dispute brought against the original director and producer of Friday the 13th, Sean S. Cunningham. Later on, Miller collaborated on the “expanded prequel” or “pre-remake-quel” TV series Crystal Lake for the Peacock streaming service with his attorney Marc Toberoff, A24, Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller, and Friday the 13th franchise rights holder Rob Barsamian, who was the last surviving investor from the original film.
Crystal Lake will be a pre-remake. Due to Miller and Barsamian’s involvement, the show is now able to draw on the entirety of the Friday the 13th canon. However, Cunningham is not completely withdrawing from the Friday the 13th franchise at this time. Cunningham has established his own production business, known as Darkfire, with the intention of developing and creating new concepts that he owns, including a slate of horror films.
The folks over at Bloody Disgusting have informed us that Cunningham is the man in charge of an all new reboot of Friday the 13th.
Jeff Locker, told BD — “Jeremy and I pitched our dream reboot of Friday the 13th – with Sean’s blessing to keep developing it with him. Obviously, the prequel TV series has reignited interest about a new film so we’re hoping the surrounding excitement will inspire both sides to come together and give us Jason on the big screen again for the first time in 14 years, but we also have a Plan B for a sequel to the original we think fans will absolutely love and should avoid any legal entanglements.“
The American horror franchise Friday the 13th consists of a total of twelve slasher films, a television series, novels, comic books, video games, and a wide variety of other products. Jason Voorhees, the protagonist of the franchise, is a fictional character who, as a child, was wrongly presumed to have drowned in Camp Crystal Lake due to the carelessness of the camp’s management.
Decades later, the lake has been the site of a number of heinous massacres, fueling rumors that it is “cursed.” In each film, Jason plays a significant role, either as the murderer or the driving force behind the bloodshed. The original picture was written by Victor Miller and filmed by Sean S. Cunningham to capitalize on the popularity of Halloween (1978). Over $468 million has been made from the films worldwide.
The most recent installment of the Friday the 13th franchise came out in 2009, during a period when many reimaginings of classic horror films were being produced. Despite the film’s poor reviews, it nonetheless managed to earn a healthy sum in comparison to its meager budget, making a sequel seem imminent. Still, this never came to fruition because of a legal dispute over the series’ rights, which prevented any further Jason Vorhees films from being made. Because of this problem, the series hasn’t been updated in ten years, and fans have been waiting for a fix.
What are your thoughts on the possibility that Cunningham may produce a new relaunch of the Friday the 13th franchise?
