Friday the 13th Icon Has a Message for Fans Frustrated by Franchise’s Legal Battles

The ’80s were the height of the slasher subgenre, with horror fans earning countless stories featuring a murderer methodically eradicating teens and coeds. The Friday the 13th series was one of the most popular of the decade, earning a shocking eight films over the course of 10 years, in addition to a TV series. Sadly, a legal dispute between the original film’s writer, Victor Miller, and director, Sean S. Cunningham, has stagnated the series indefinitely as they attempt to settle the debate over who owns which elements of the franchise. Kane Hodder, who played the masked killer four times in the franchise, weighed in on the matter and offered encouragement to fans.

“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.”

The last film in the franchise was in 2009, which was a reboot of the concept and blended together elements from the first three films. Various sequels have attempted to move forward in recent years, only to ultimately be scrapped, though the Friday the 13th game helped satiate fans as they waited for a new film. Hodder pointed out that, not only does this legal battle prevent new films from moving forward, but also denies fans the chance to see some of the work he contributed to the game.

“We may never see the rest of the Friday the 13th game content that we’ve already done, too, for the same reason,” the actor shared. “Not only a movie, but I did motion capture for that game over the course of almost two years and there’s so much that could be put into the game and it may never see the light of day because of this.”

Stay tuned for details on the possible future of the Friday the 13th franchise both in the world of film and video games. You can stay up to date with all of Hodder’s latest projects on his official Facebook page.

Are you hoping that the franchise will return? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!