Greg Nicotero is the face of horror. As co-founder of Hollywood’s longest running effects house, KNB EFX Group, the prolific special makeup effects artist has helped bring to life such slasher icons as Halloween‘s Michael Myers, A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s Freddy Krueger, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre‘s Leatherface, and Scream‘s Ghostface. But it’s the hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th franchise who is getting a Nicotero-designed makeover in the all-new Jason Universe from Friday the 13th LLC and Horror, Inc.
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“They said, ‘We want to reimagine him,’” Nicotero, who previously served as the effects supervisor and SFX artist on 1993’s Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, exclusively told ComicBook about the redesign at San Diego Comic-Con. “And so we did this new mask, then we did a new Jason.”
Horror, Inc., unveiled the new Jason Voorhees in May, revealing a machete-wielding Jason with a hockey mask that has — count them — 13 holes. “They’re like, ‘He’s not a zombie, so he’s not going to be rotted.’ So we landed somewhere between Part 2 and Part 3,” the Walking Dead makeup maestro said, referring to the killer’s makeshift sack mask in 1981’s Friday the 13th Part 2 and the iconic hockey mask that the deformed Jason first donned in Friday the 13th Part 3 in 1982.
“It was a lot of fun. It’s fun for me to revisit those,” Nicotero added of returning to Friday the 13th for the Jason Universe over 30 years later. “We did Nightmare on Elm Street, we did Halloween, we did three Scream movies, we did Leatherface. We’re the only company that’s really touched all of those big franchises, except for Hellraiser.”
Nicotero’s redesigned Jason will be the face of the Jason Universe set to launch with the A24-produced Peacock series Crystal Lake, a prequel starring Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees and Callum Vinson as her young son destined to haunt Camp Crystal Lake and prey on campers and camp counselors alike.
“We strive to maintain Jason’s original essence, while continuing to move toward the future with a defined look and feel that takes Jason into his next chapter,” Rob Barsamian, president of Horror, Inc., said back in May when revealing the new Jason mask. “We’re also working with both familiar and fresh franchise voices to strike that balance.”
Barsamian continued, “We gave Greg our new 13-hole mask and worked together on this full body look that embodies classic Jason. He’s a strong, towering and terrifying slasher with a machete, his weapon of choice.”
Friday the 13th LLC’s Marc Toberoff, who oversees the Jason Universe with Friday the 13th franchise creator Victor Miller and Horror, Inc.’s Robert M. Barsamian and Robert P. Barsamian, has teased Jason’s long-awaited return to the big screen for the first time since the 2009 reboot. “It’s incredibly exciting to bring Jason Voorhees back into the lives of fans in such a bold and fresh way,” he said of the collaboration in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be working alongside Horror, Inc. on this next chapter of the franchise and Jason’s legacy, and we share their passion. Together, we’re making sure this return delivers everything longtime fans have been craving — while opening the door for an entirely new generation.”
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