‘Friday The 13th’ Franchise To Receive A New Origin Story, And Despite Rumors, It Won’t Be Found Footage


With the recent news that a 10th Halloween movie is in development and to be produced by none other than original director John Carpenter, fans can’t help but wonder what happened to several other popular horror reboots. A Nightmare on Elm Street has gone back to the drawing board after a poor showing in 2010, and The Evil Dead is currently faring well as a successful television adaptation. However, fans also want to know what happened to Friday the 13th, a franchise that has remained relatively quiet since its stunted resurgence in 2009.

Much like its iconic slasher Jason Voorhees, the franchise is anything but dead. A crowd-funded video game is currently in production, and, as revealed by Dread Central, Kane Hodder — the original Jason — is getting ready to produce To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story, a documentary based on the life and career behind one of horror’s best boogeymen. Throw in a multitude of graphic novels and books that continue to syndicate and Jason has never been more popular.

Aside from these exciting developments, a new Friday the 13th movie is also in production. The 13th in the franchise itself — cue spooky foreshadowing and such — multiple rumors have surfaced about the film, and fans are baying for a stellar installment to reinvigorate the legend of Jason Voorhees. This week, many of the rumors were quashed when the producer of the movie confirmed that the next Friday the 13th will feature a new origin story, and they also quelled whispers about a potential found footage feature. Fans can now breathe a sigh of relief.

The 'Friday The 13th' Franchise Will Receive A New Origin Story3
Despite a poorly-received 2009 reboot, ‘Friday the 13th’ has lived on in other media, including books, comics, and video games (above). [Image via f13.com]

Friday the 13th producer Brad Fuller spoke to TheReelWorld about the project and revealed some interesting details to the fans. One persistent rumor about the next film was the possibility of reinventing the world of Camp Crystal Lake in found footage form, to the collective groans of the die-hard horror community. Thankfully, with the sub-genre more than wearing out its welcome, this will not happen.

“There was a lot of found-footage scripts that they wanted us to make and I was not going to do that because I don’t think that can exist in Jason Voorhees’ world.”

Fans might not want another Friday the 13th movie, and many have complained about the franchise since the ill-fated instalment in 2009, but with Aaron Guzikowski attached to write the screenplay — he wrote 2013 thriller Prisoners, which starred Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal — this instalment is gaining some serious traction.

“Aaron’s story has great characters…You kind of have to understand Jason Voorhees, so we go back and we kind of started over and work our way forward.”

Which hints at an origin story of sorts? Fuller would explain.

“Origin-ish, but it’s an origin that no one has seen before. Obviously Pamela’s there, but it’s a little bit different from what you’ve seen before.”

A return for Pamela Voorhees? That changes things a little. As fans will know, Pamela was the original killer from the first Friday the 13th movie who stalked the waters and cabins of Camp Crystal Lake. However, despite being a pivotal cog in the franchise, she hasn’t featured much since, mainly existing in flashbacks or sinister voice-over when taunting or mocking her son, Jason. In revisiting old characters, it seems Fuller is intent on bringing back a bit of flair and originality to the franchise, something that will be welcomed amongst the mundane reboots of the modern cinematic spectrum.

'Friday The 13th' Franchise To Receive A New Origin Story, And Despite Rumours, It Won't Be Found Footage2
Pamela Voorhees (played by Betsy Palmer) was the original killer of the franchise, a vengeful mother who reaped bloody revenge on a number of camp counsellors, who she blamed for Jason’s death. The new film may tweak her origin story a little. [Image via Paramount Pictures]

And the news couldn’t have come at a better time. The unveiling might be a little coincidental, yes, but fans can’t deny that John Carpenter’s scathing attack on the original Friday the 13th movie — one revealed by Cinema Blend — will shed a brighter light on these new details. With both franchises about to usher in a new entry for the masses, we may yet see a horror war between two of the genre’s greatest icons, Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. It might not happen as a duo duking it out on the big screen, and probably never will due to Carpenter’s choice words, but seeing two iconic slashers make their long-awaited return to the cinema will definitely cheer up the dedicated horror fan.

You can see the untitled Friday the 13th movie when it hits cinemas on January 13, 2017. And guess what? It’s a Friday too.

[Image via Warner Bros. Pictures/Paramount Pictures]

Share this article: ‘Friday The 13th’ Franchise To Receive A New Origin Story, And Despite Rumors, It Won’t Be Found Footage
More from Inquisitr