Platinum Dunes’ long-awaited camping trip to Crystal Lake has been spoiled by one creative setback after another, with a handful of writers and directors becoming attached to the fledging Friday the 13th reboot, only to back out before the production could display any tangible sign of progress.
But Platinum producer Brad Fuller comes bearing good news today, revealing that not only is screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners, Contraband) cooking up a reworked origins tale for one Jason Voorhees, but the finished product will not be a found footage movie as previous reports had suggested.
Speaking with The Reel Word, Fuller touched base on Guzikowski’s script and the appearance of Pamela Voorhees, mother to Crystal Lake’s infamous stalker.
“Aaron’s story has great characters…You kind of have to understand Jason Voorhees, so we go back and we kind of started over and work our way forward,” said Fuller. When asked to clarify it was an origin story, he stated it will be “Origin-ish, but it’s an origin that no one has seen before. Obviously Pamela’s there, but it’s a little bit different from what you’ve seen before.”
Since it was announced, Platinum’s Friday the 13th has become a hotbed for rumors and speculation, though Fuller was quick to rubbish reports that the horror reboot would adapt the found footage template, believing that it wouldn’t gel with Jason Voorhees’ world.
“There was a lot of found-footage scripts that they wanted us to make and I was not going to do that because I don’t think that can exist in Jason Voorhees’ world.”
It’s a reboot that has spent close to four years languishing on the brink of development, but with TMNT: Out of the Shadows ready to pounce into theaters later this week, Platinum Dunes can now shift resources over to its overhauled Friday the 13th movie. Still no word on a release timeline, but we’ll keep you posted as the project garners some momentum.