It’s no secret that Blumhouse has been eying the Friday the 13th franchise for some time now. Last year, Jason Blum reaffirmed his desire to revive Jason Voorhees and return to Crystal Lake once more, especially since the horror icon hasn’t had a new film since the 2009 reboot. Thanks to a messy rights dispute between the first film’s screenwriter Victor Miller and director Sean S. Cunningham, making something featuring the iconic adult Jason in his trademark hockey mask has been exceedingly difficult for studios to pull off. If Blumhouse could make a miracle happen and acquire yet another classic horror IP, however, Blum knows exactly who he’d hand the reins to.
In a recent interview with Collider‘s Perri Nemiroff for his upcoming horror flick Imaginary, Blum was asked about the one project he wishes he could greenlight right now for his production banner. “Friday the 13th is what I would do,” he answered. “It’s not a Blumhouse project, but I’m trying to will it into being one. It’s just a piece of IP I’ve always loved.” For him, the obvious answer for the director was his new business partner, James Wan. “And James Wan and Atomic Monster are very passionate about it, and I think we would have them shepherd it for us. That would be a lot of fun.”
Wan is responsible for creating several of the horror genre’s modern classics, masterminding the Conjuring universe, and co-creating the Saw and Insidious franchises with fellow horror auteur Leigh Whanell. He’s also shown an impressive range as a director beyond the macabre, helming blockbusters like Aquaman, Fast 7, and the recent Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. His Atomic Monster banner finally joined forces with Blumhouse at the beginning of this year — the duo had been planning to merge since late 2022. Now the filmmaker has even more resources to work with to bring his ideas to life, whether that be on the big screen or through other media like video games. Remaking a staple of the horror genre like Friday the 13th, however, would be new territory for the director. Blumhouse, which has previously revived both Halloween and The Exorcist in recent years, might be able to give him that opportunity eventually.
‘Friday the 13th’ Would Be the Holy Grail for Blumhouse
Everyone involved seems to adore the Friday the 13th franchise, including Blumhouse producer Ryan Turek. In a previous interview with Inverse, Turek elaborated on his and Blum‘s long-held desire to make a back-to-basics film about Jason taking on camp counselors once again. “Listen, I’ve gone on the record saying Halloween is the ultimate slasher film for me,” he added. “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.”
The rights hurdle is still a big one to overcome, but Friday the 13th is still poised to return sooner rather than later. A24 acquired the television rights to the franchise and is set to release the prequel series Crystal Lake later this year on Peacock. Hannibal‘s Bryan Fuller is writing the script and effects legend Tom Savini is potentially set to return to the franchise. Unlike the messy film rights, Fuller says the team has a lot more freedom to explore the world of the horror series on the small screen, though there are still questions as to what’s within limits legally for the team.
Blumhouse‘s next upcoming film is Imaginary starring DeWanda Wise, which hits theaters on March 8. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the studio’s newest releases.
via Collider