The slasher subsection of the horror genre has many iconic killers such as Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) and Ghostface (Roger L. Jackson), but it’s hard to think of any villain in that category more memorable than Jason Voorhees (originally played by Steve Dash in Friday the 13th: Part 2). That’s an impressive feat considering Jason wasn’t even the Friday the 13th franchise’s original villain, and he didn’t even get his instantly recognizable hockey mask until Part 3. Despite that, Jason Voorhees is more than likely the first name one thinks of when discussing legendary horror villains, so it is a bit surprising that it’s been so long since we last saw him in an official capacity.
Jason’s last big-screen appearance came in the 2009 Friday the 13th remake, starring Supernatural‘s Jared Padalecki, which, while disliked when it first released, has since garnered a reputation as a misunderstood cult classic. It’s been a long hiatus, but big plans are in place for Mr. Voorhees to make a comeback via the entire Friday the 13th franchise’s rebranding as the Jason Universe, starting with the long-in-development Crystal Lake series from Peacock and A24, though considering it will be a prequel following Jason’s mother (played here by Linda Cardellini), it’s unclear how large a role Jason will have in the new show. The closest thing fans have gotten to a proper Jason comeback thus far is the multiplayer Friday the 13th: The Game released in 2017, but that game has since been taken offline and is now unplayable.
Now, Jason is coming back to the video game space in a big way, as he is officially joining the massive roster of killers in the hugely beloved horror game, Dead by Daylight. Friday the 13th: The Game was seen by many as a competitor to Dead by Daylight, so the fact that Jason is now joining that very game franchise is more than a little significant. Starting with a collaboration with the Halloween franchise to bring Michael Myers to the game, Dead by Daylight has spent over a decade expanding its roster with both original killers and pop culture horror icons, including the cannibalistic Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the relentless Xenomorph from Alien, the maniacal Chucky from Child’s Play, the animalistic Demogorgon from Stranger Things, and even the sadistic Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, meaning this will be the first time Jason and Freddy have officially shared a screen since they fought in 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason.
What Is ‘Dead by Daylight?’
Similar to Friday the 13th: The Game, Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical multiplayer horror game that pits a group of players as survivors and one or two players as a powerful killer. While the survivors try to power up generators and attempt to escape, the killers try to hunt them down, capture them, and sacrifice them to a spider-like creature known as “The Entity.” The arrival of Jason Voorhees to the game couldn’t come at a better time, as the game is just weeks away from celebrating its tenth anniversary. Not only that, but horror juggernaut Blumhouse is also developing a Dead by Daylight movie that will bring its unique brand of horror to screens beyond the video game world.
Dead by Daylight is available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, with Jason joining the roster on June 16, 2026.
via Collider