Original Friday the 13th Director Teases Release Date of Crystal Lake TV Series

Sean S. Cunningham predicts a Halloween 2025 release date.

By Patrick Cavanaugh

A Friday the 13th prequel TV series from Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller and A24 seemed like a thrilling and unexpected way to revive the dormant franchise, only for those plans to dissolve. Hope isn't entirely lost for the project, however, with director of the original Friday the 13th recently confirming that Crystal Lake could begin shooting later this year and then earn a release in time for Halloween of 2025. The filmmaker himself expressed his concerns about such a release date, though, given all of the struggles he's seen impact a variety of projects over the years. Brad Caleb Kane is currently attached to develop Crystal Lake.

"Last I heard, they're talking about shooting it in Australia at the end of this year and releasing on Halloween 2025," Cunningham revealed at Silver Scream Con this past weekend, per Bloody Disgusting. "But I've heard versions of that story for so long, I don't put a lot of credibility into it. There's just so many things that can go sideways."

Sadly for Friday the 13th fans, the scrapping of Fuller's project is only the latest in a long line of frustrations with the status of the slasher series.

The first film in the series was released in 1980 and took advantage of the emerging slasher craze, delivering a story in which a mysterious figure is killing off camp counselors. The movie revealed that it was Pamela Voorhees who was responsible for the killings, as her son Jason drowned years earlier due to counselors being distracted with drugs and sex. The next movie, and every subsequent sequel, saw Jason somehow survive through supernatural methods to continue the reign of terror ignited by his mom. 

The last official entry in the franchise came in 2009 with a reboot that blended together elements from the first three films, which was met with mixed reactions from fans. Various attempts at a new entry continued for the better part of a decade, with a sequel in 2017 nearly beginning production before legal issues shut it down.

While Cunningham directed the original movie, the script came from Victor Miller, who was hired by Cunningham based largely on a title and loose concept. Cunningham and Miller began a legal dispute over who owned the rights to various components of the franchise, from the title to the mythology to Jason Voorhees himself. Miller ended up winning the suit, a result which Cunningham has been disputing ever since. 

By developing a TV series that served as a prequel to the original movie that took place within the franchise yet didn't require the "Friday the 13th" title or utilized Jason Voorhees in a significant capacity, the filmmakers had found enough of a loophole to revive interest in the property. According to Cunningham, Fuller's version of the prequel was going to be a bit more grim than Peacock hoping for.

"Bryan got the job, and it was greenlit. It was going forward, they started to set up the writers' room, and they didn't like the road he was going down," Cunningham confirmed. "They felt it was gonna be too dark. So they abandoned it and then hired another writer [Brad Caleb Kane]."

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Kane recently developed the IT prequel series Welcome to Derry. Stay tuned for updates on Crystal Lake.

What do you think of the filmmaker's remarks? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror! 

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