Platinum Dunes has worked on returning to Camp Crystal Lake for a while now, setting the wheels in a motion several years back on a Friday the 13th reboot. Originally touted as found footage, producer Brad Fuller recently confirmed that this newer take would not evoke shaky-cam visuals, and would instead be a brand new origin story. Naturally, fans breathed a collective sigh of relief knowing their beloved machete-wielding maniac wouldn’t be subjected to that overused format. But as it turns out, the origin Fuller referred to won’t be quite what you’re expecting, either.
In a new interview with iHorror the producer clarifies his earlier comments and confirms that the reboot won’t just delve back into Jason Voorhees’ past – it will introduce a completely new timeline for the franchise.
“Origin isn’t really the right word for this movie. The word origin got out and everyone’s calling it an origin film now, but that isn’t exactly the direction we’re taking. It’s more of an alternate world that we’re creating for Jason – an alternate space, alternate reality – in this film.”
“Yes, Pamela and Jason are together in this film, but this is the same Jason we all know and love. He’s Jason; he kills – he kills teenagers. We went down the origin route with the second Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, and I think when you go to deep into a character’s origin, the character stops being scary at some point. I’m not worried about demystifying Jason by revealing parts of his back story, which most of the fans are familiar with.”
Even though it’s understandable to see why Fuller is clearing up his previous comments, the notion of a true origin – connected to the existing movies – did have promising elements. Most notably, talk of Jason’s father making an appearance, which he adds was just “a comment I made” and something that they’ve yet to decide on.
As for the setting of the movie, it looks as though this alternate reality for Jason and his mother will be located in a familiar place for franchise fans. Well, is there any other option?
“The story takes place between the late 1970s and the early 1980s. There is a summer camp, and there are camp counsellors.”
With all the pieces slotting into place, at long last, will Friday the 13th manage to open on its tentative January 2017 release date? Fuller says that’s unlikely due to the time its taken for he and writer Aaron Guzikowski to iron out storyline specifics. However, he does mention the next pivotal date could be the Friday the 13th coming up in October 2017. We’ll keep you posted if and when Platinum Dunes makes an announcement.