'Friday the 13th' Reboot Producer Explains Why New Film Never Happened

The last film in the Friday the 13th franchise was the 2009 reboot, which was co-produced by Brad Fuller. A new film was reportedly heading into production last year, yet the project ultimately fell through, leaving audiences confused as to why we've never gotten a follow-up film. Fuller recently detailed how a series of rights complications, in addition to the possible disappointment of a franchise film, resulted in that film being scrapped indefinitely.

"There was a couple of things. I think there was concern about the rights looming at that point," Fuller shared with SYFY Wire. "Paramount was concerned if they made that movie and the rights were not available…if you are going to make that movie, you want to be able to ride it for more than one or two movies. That didn't exist in this rights structure. We were going down the road to make the movie, but, at the end of the day, economically and/or creatively, they didn't want to make it."

One of the drawbacks of long-running franchises is that producing and distributing movies can often result in multiple studios having differing stakes in the project, which extends to box office profits and future installments. Were another Friday the 13th to have become a success, New Line Cinema would have been the studio responsible for sequels, allowing New Line to capitalize on Paramount's possible success.

"There's this clause in the rights that the rights revert back to New Line. As that date became closer and closer, Paramount would have made one Friday the 13th movie and then New Line would have benefited if the movie was great," Fuller detailed. "Then, New Line could have followed it up with subsequent movies. It put Paramount in a very tough position to go ahead and actually make the movie, and then us to reap the benefits if it was successful beyond that particular film."

Even the theoretical success of a Friday the 13th film seemed doubtful, with Fuller noting that Rings, the third film in the horror franchise kicked off with 2002's The Ring, was a critical and financial disappointment. With few other horror franchises seeing new installments develop, Fuller theorized that audiences might have lost interest in extended horror series.

"That was also a time when sequels were not doing as well," Fuller hypothesized. "We're all kind of reactionary when you are making something. You are looking for evidence that tells you that what you are making is right on the cutting edge of where society is going, and you certainly don't want to make something that feels like the timing is wrong. I wouldn't say the whole thing fell apart because of [Rings]. I certainly think that played into it. But, I also think the rights and now the litigation about the rights for Friday the 13th played into it in a much more substantial way than just how the Rings sequel did."

There is currently no news about either a sequel to the reboot or another attempt at reviving the franchise, with the filmmakers behind the original installment current amidst legal negotiations about who holds the rights to the characters, concept, and title.

Stay tuned for details about the future of the franchise.

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[H/T SYFY Wire]