However, Paramount Pictures later sold the franchise to New Line Cinema. This production company released the three most recent entries in the franchise. These are Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Jason X, Freddy vs Jason, and Friday the 13th. The last time we got an entry in the franchise was back in 2009, so we’ve been overdue a Friday the 13th sequel for quite a few years now! Jason Voorhees has starred in almost all entries in the franchise.
Friday the 13th Legal Issues
Image: Paramount Pictures/New Line Cinema
There’s been plenty of hints at another entry in the series. After all, the producer Roy Lee said last month:
[A new Friday the 13th movie] is something that I would love to talk about. You may be hearing something by year’s end… on that front.” Lee previously worked on hit horror films such as Blair Witch, It and The Ring. He’s been rumored to be working on a Friday the 13th sequel since 2018, although this is the first real confirmation that he’s attached to it.
In 2018, Lee was going to create the film through this production studio, Vertigo Entertainment. However, some legal issues with the franchise creators meant that it was delayed until 2021, when the case was eventually settled. The original director and producer of the first film, Sean S Cunningham, was in a legal dispute with the writer of the film, Victor Miller. Eventually, Miller won the case in 2021, giving him the domestic rights to the Friday the 13th franchise.
Despite this, Cunningham still owns the rights to the adult version of Jason Voorhees. If a Friday the 13th sequel is in the works, then the team will need to get the rights to this character and the setting of Camp Crystal Lake. If that weren’t enough, they’d also need to gain rights to the Friday the 13th title for the films! Since New Line Cinema is hinting at a sequel, particularly one involving Jason Voorhees, it seems that these legal issues may finally end.
Friday the 13th Sequel Plot
Image: Paramount Pictures/New Line Cinema
Unfortunately, we know very little about the details of a Friday the 13th sequel. There’s no word if it’ll be a direct sequel like some of the previous entries or something else like the crossover with Nightmare on Elm Street. They might reboot the franchise or create a sequel to the original film, like 2018’s Halloween. If the studio goes in this direction, this will allow them to include other characters from the summer Camp Crystal Lake. Perhaps we’ll see Pamela Voorhees return in this film.
Additionally, there’s no news on when the film might release. However, speculation states that New Line Cinema’s production company will release the film in 2023, most likely in time for Halloween. Since the original film was released, Friday the 13th has been a staple scary movie and one of the most iconic horror movie franchises. The film spawned a bunch of spin-offs and merchandise, like video games and television shows. We would certainly welcome another Friday the 13th sequel!
What are your thoughts? What would you like to see in a Friday the 13th sequel? Which characters or actors do you want to return in the film? Let us know your thoughts below!