Sean S. Cunningham, the director of the first Friday 13 and historical producer of the saga, spoke about the next film, and he is not very confident.
If we thought that Crystal Lake (the series eh, not the metal group) would quickly bring Jason Voorhees back to our screens, we will actually have to wait quite a bit. The project has indeed lost its showrunner, Bryan Fuller (notably known for having taken care of the series Hannibal) due to artistic disputes with the production. With the addition of the strike of American screenwriters in 2023, we understand that we will not be able to return immediately to Crystal Lake.
Logically, we then begin to imagine that the solution could come from films. After 12 feature films (that’s more than Chainsaw Massacre, Scream or Chucky), the first in 1980 and the last in 2009, we say that a thirteenth film could bring back from the dead one of the most cult franchises in horror cinema (especially since the marketing with the number 13 is already all found). Unfortunately, the director of the first opus, Sean S. Cunningham, recently returned to this project again Friday 13And he doesn’t seem very confident.
Friday the 13th, it’s not for yet
According to Creepy Catalogit was during Texas Frightmare Weekend, a media event focused on horror cinema, that Sean S. Cunningham discussed the upcoming film Friday 13, and he explained why we won’t be seeing the hockey mask killer in our cinemas again anytime soon. Without mentioning the rights issues surrounding the saga and the legal battle between him and Victor Miller, the only writer credited for the original screenplay of Friday 13Cunningham stated that studios were reluctant to put up money in a horror project, risking not having a huge return on investment.
He particularly highlighted the consequences of the pandemic and the change in consumers’ viewing habits, which according to him have influenced the studios. The director of the first Friday 13 then declared that he did not expect to see this thirteenth opus in the cinema for at least 3 years.
We miss you and your machete…
To end on a happier note, Sean S. Cunningham explained that he was impatiently waiting for the first images of the series Crystal Lake, showing curiosity as to how the franchise’s story was going to be told in a new way. He also said that another game Friday 13 was in preparation. Like what, Jason Voorhees always ends up finding us.
