An Iconic Horror Franchise Is Getting A Prequel
A Friday the 13th prequel series titled Crystal Lake is coming to Peacock from Bryan Fuller.
Friday the 13th is getting yet another reboot just in time for Halloween. According to Deadline, Bryan Fuller has received a straight-to-series order from Peacock for a prequel series set in the same universe where Jason Vorhees has slaughtered numerous teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake. As noted in the report, this comes after a legal battle between the team of the original film.
The Friday the 13th prequel, Crystal Lake, comes from the mind of Bryan Fuller, who helped develop Star Trek: Discovery. Fuller was reportedly in development with a Friday the 13th project since 2013. According to Deadline, Fuller will serve as writer, showrunner, and executive producer for the streaming series.
A24 is the studio behind the Friday the 13th prequel. The screenwriter of the original 1980 film, Victor Miller, is set to return as executive producer alongside his copyright attorney and Rob Barsamian. Barsamian produced the original movie that helped spawn a lengthy horror franchise.
1980’s Friday the 13th was directed by Sean S. Cunningham and starred Betsey Palmer as Mrs. Vorhees, who goes on a murder spree in 1979 after a group of teenagers tries to reopen Camp Crystal Lake. In the original film, Mrs. Vorhees’ son, Jason, drowned in 1959. A decomposing Jason Vorhees does show up briefly at the end (unless it was a dream… or was it?)
The news of a Friday the 13th prequel comes after we reported that a potential Halloween series was in development for Peacock. The streamer seems to be fully behind the Halloween series after the success of Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends. Peacock may have two horror-centric series to draw viewers in if all goes well.
As noted in Deadline, Crystal Lake won’t be the first television series based on this iconic horror franchise. Friday the 13th: The Series aired between 1987 and 1990 and had three seasons to play in the franchise’s sandbox. The series centered on a pair of owners of a cursed antique store. Funnily enough, the series didn’t feature Jason or any of the characters from the original film.
Deadline also reported in 2014 that Crystal Lake Entertainment was developing a Friday the 13th series with Power executive producer Mark Canton attached to the project. However, the series never saw the light of day.
The last Friday the 13th project was Marcus Nispel’s 2009 film produced by New Line. The reboot received generally negative reviews but was a box office win for the studio, grossing $92.7 million against a production budget of roughly $19 million. Warner Bros. set a release date for a planned sequel; however, the project was subsequently delayed.
Details about this Friday the 13th prequel series are being kept under wraps. Miller and Barsamian’s involvement is perhaps the most interesting wrinkle. The two were on opposite sides of a legal battle over whether Miller’s involvement in the original film was a work for hire. The judge ended up ruling in favor of Miller, allowing him to license a series.
There’s also the fact that Friday the 13th has numerous films that have mudded up the story and continuity. Of course, fans may want a well-told story and may not even worry about the franchise’s history.
