Jason lives! After nearly 20 years, Jason Voorhees is finally returning to the big screen in what will be (appropriately enough) the 13th film in the “Friday the 13th” franchise. The rights to the “Friday the 13th” series have been stuck in a bit of a legal mess over the years, but according to Deadline, a new film is in the works — with a familiar filmmaker at the helm. Steve Miner, who directed “Friday the 13th Part 2” and “Friday the 13th Part III” (which was the first movie to give Jason his now-iconic hockey mask) will direct this new entry.
Some fans will no doubt love that Jason is back on the big screen in any form, while more cynical folks (like me, for instance) will wonder if this is little more than an attempt to cling onto the complicated rights to a well-established franchise. Miner hasn’t directed a movie in a while, and it might have been a bit more exciting to hand the reins over to a fresh new director with new ideas. Then again, it’s not like these movies need to be complicated. We just want to see Jason hack and slash. In any case, the new “Friday the 13th” comes on the heels of “Crystal Lake,” the TV series that served as an origin story for Jason and his killer mother.
Somehow, Jason Voorhees returned
Per the Deadline scoop, this new movie “will be financed and produced by the Barsamian family, which controls the franchise through their company Horror, Inc.” CatchLight Studios will serve as a production partner, while Cineverse has North America distribution rights. David Fliegel will pen the script. Per Fleigel’s IMDb page, this will apparently be his first produced screenplay. His only other credits are for producing and “additional crew.”
The last time Jason was up on the big screen was in 2009’s “Friday the 13th” reboot, which was a box office hit but did not spawn a whole new franchise as intended. Since then, the series has languished in a legal quagmire, with Jason only returning in a short film (titled “Sweet Revenge”) and the aforementioned “Crystal Lake” series.
As a kid who grew up haunting the horror section of the video store, I’m always up for some new Jason action, and it does seem crazy that we haven’t had a new “Friday the 13th” movie in so long. Still, I can’t help but think something seems a bit off about this announcement. But hey, I’m hoping for the best. Jason has survived space, New York City, andFreddy Krueger. He’s a resilient guy. I’m pulling for him.
