Friday the 13th Legal Dispute Could Be Resolved Next Summer

After years of being tied up in legal battles, the dispute over the rights to the Friday the 13th franchise could find its answer next summer, according to attorney and former franchise star Larry Zerner. While Zerner himself might not be directly involved in the matter, his legal expertise and involvement in the franchise have resulted in him often taking to social media to translate the legal jargon for fans to give them a better grasp on what to expect from their beloved series. Based on the timeline for oral arguments in 2020, this could result in a solution by June of 2020.

Zerner took to Twitter to share, "Update in Horror, Inc. v. Miller ([Friday the 13th] case). The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has proposed oral arguments for the week of February 10th, 2020. This means there will probably be a decision by June 2020."

The current situation is that Victor Miller, who wrote the script for the original film, was granted the rights to the series, a claim which the director of the original film, Sean S. Cunningham, then disputed. Cunningham claims that, despite having only come up with the film's name, Miller was essentially his employee, so the rights to the franchise should remain with him.

The last film in the franchise was 2009's reboot, though an unnamed sequel was reportedly being developed in 2017, which got pushed to 2018, and was ultimately scrapped. More recently, fans have enjoyed playing a Friday the 13th video game, which united all corners of the series' lore, with the legal dispute preventing that game from adding already-created content.

Actor Kane Hodder has the distinction of being the only performer to play Jason Voorhees more than once in the series, starring in four different installments. Earlier this summer, the actor offered a message for fans dismayed by the legal disputes.

"I think both of them realize the potential for fans that is being missed," Hodder shared with ComicBook.com. "They're both business people and see things differently and unfortunately their priority is not the fans, it's more business. And I just really hope they can figure it out so we can get the rest of the game content out there and do one more movie. And I would say to the fans, don't give up yet because we thought things were dead in the past and they came back. So, just like Jason, don't give up quite yet. Hang in there. Keep hoping for me to come back and kill motherfuckers again."

Stay tuned for updates on the future of the Friday the 13th series.

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