It’s been 13 long years since the last Friday the 13th movie was released, and the franchise has been mired in legal complications since then. The director and writer of the original 1980 movie need to come to an agreement before more horror movies featuring villain Jason Voorhees can be made.
However, the producer of the series, Roy Lee has provided would could be some hopeful good news for fans of the franchise. Speaking to Bloody Disgusting’s The Boo Crew Podcast in an exclusive chat, Lee was asked about Friday the 13th, and he replied; “That one is something that I would love to talk about. You may be hearing something by year’s end… on that front.”
In 2018, LeBron James (and his production company SpringHill Entertainment) was said to be producing a Friday the 13th reboot, alongside Lee and Doug Davison’s Vertigo Entertainment. So, this could potentially be coming to fruition – finally. It was also in 2018 that a judge ruled that writer Victor Miller owns the rights to the original screenplay, but director Sean Cunningham owns the rights to the character of Jason Voorhees – as an adult.
There were nine Friday the 13th movies released between 1980 and 1993. There was then an almost decade-long gap before the release of Jason X in 2002, then Freddy vs Jason in 2003, and finally a Friday the 13th reboot in 2009 starring Jared Padalecki. Along with Michael Myers and Freddie Krueger, Jason (and his hockey mask) is one of the most iconic horror characters of all time.
While there’s no guarantee that we’re getting another Friday the 13th anytime soon, it wouldn’t be that surprising. The Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Scream franchises have been successfully rebooted, and David Gordon Green is moving on to The Exorcist next.
Check out our guide to the best Netflix horror movies.