On January 20th, it was reported by Bloody Disgusting that Sean S. Cunningham was working producing on a Friday the 13th reboot, as well as two of his other films from the 80s in House and The Night Driver. I am not really familiar with House or The Night Driver but seeing more confirmation that we’d get more Jason Vorhees in the near future felt really good.
For those who might not be aware, the reason that Jason has been shelved since his last remake in 2009 has been a lengthy legal battle between Cunningham and Victor Miller, the writer for the original. They had been fighting over the rights to the franchise for over a decade now and we’re starting to see the results. To summarize it, Miller has the rights to the original Friday the 13th and everything in it. He has since announced a prequel series for Peacock called “Crystal Lake” which should focus on the camp, Pamela Vorhees, and child Jason, as those fall within his control within the US market.
Cunningham on the other side won the rights to pretty much everything else, namely the Jason Vorhees we all know and love/fear with his hockey mask. This is why he was able to tease this next entry to the franchise. Now, everything I have read about the legal battles is still a little unclear about whether or not Miller and Cunningham have to both approve of any future projects. There are also potential loopholes that may allow Miller to use ideas from other movies that could age Jason up to the killer we’re accustomed to seeing.
Even though the legal battles may have ended, it doesn’t sound like anything is guaranteed. However, with the Crystal Lake show seemingly going ahead with plans and now Cunningham reportedly getting back into the producer chair for a Friday the 13th reboot, the odds seem to be in the fan’s favor. With Michael Myers, Pinhead, and Leatherface all getting their time to shine on the big screen recently, hopefully, Jason is next up.
