It has been close to 15 years since we’ve had a new Friday the 13th movie in theaters which, in my humble slasher-loving opinion, is just wholly unacceptable. In fairness, much of that has had to do with a lawsuit between original screenwriter Victor Miller and director Sean Cunningham. But with the Crystal Lake TV show in the works at Peacock, the tide finally appears to be turning. Now, the folks at Blumhouse are once again making it known that they want to bring Jason Voorhees back to the big screen.
Blumhouse’s Ryan Turek recently spoke with the folks at Inverse in anticipation of the release of The Exorcist: Believer, which marks the latest major franchise that the company has managed to get its hands on following the success of director David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy. Turek explained that he and Blumhouse head honcho Jason Blum very much want to be the ones to bring Friday the 13th back. If Turek has his way, it sounds like he wouldn’t complicate matters too much either. Here’s what he had to say about it:
“Jason [Blum] and I are definitely in agreement that Friday the 13th is the thing we would love to get our hands on. I really want to go back to the basics. You don't need too many ingredients for a Friday the 13th film. You need summer camp, you need campers, and you need Jason Vorhees in a mask. Listen, I've gone on the record saying Halloween is the ultimate slasher film for me. That's my favorite slasher film of all time. But Friday the 13th as a franchise is one that I just bow down to. I just love everything about it. And if we were able to live in both worlds, like we do with Halloween, then to be able to live at Crystal Lake for a while would be so incredible.”
This is far from the first time that Turek and/or Blum have mentioned this franchise as a target and, as of now, there’s no real indication that they’ve made any actual inquiries about it. That said, about a year ago it looked like there might be some actual movement happening on a Friday the 13th movie before cold water was quickly poured on the situation. All of this to say, this all sounds like wishful thinking right now rather than something that might actually happen.
Then again, with Bryan Fuller doing Crystal Lake, there is no reason to think a new movie can’t happen as well. Honestly, it makes it feel more likely than it has in a very long time. The only real issue might be the fear of competing projects. But given that the Halloween trilogy made nearly $500 million worldwide - even with both Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends going to Peacock on the same day they hit theaters - Blumhouse does feel like an obvious landing spot for Jason Voorhees.
Money talks, and there is money to be made with a new Friday the 13th movie. Eventually, one is going to happen. You can bet Jason Blum will be making phone calls when that time comes.
The Exorcist: Believer hits theaters on October 6.
