The Friday the 13th movies have been slashing their way through theaters since 1980, but people can’t seem to get enough of Jason Vorhees’ murderous antics since his official introduction in the second entry. In 2009, they told a “reimagining” of the first four movies simply titled, Friday the 13th. That feature wasn’t a critical darling, and while we won’t see that particular continuity again, the series is giving another go at providing Jason's origin story. This time, however, there adding someone who has never been seen in the franchise nearly four decade-long history: his father.
According to Birth.Movies.Death’s sources, Jason’s father, Elias Vorhees, is included in the new Friday the 13th reboot’s (no official title yet) script, written by Aaron Guzikowski. The report didn’t reveal how he will be involved, but we can presume it will be a significant role rather than a mere cameo. Elias is one of the new mysteries that this horror series has never fully answered, so for hardcore fans, finally seeing him in the flesh is undoubtedly an exciting prospect.
Excluding this reboot, Elias has only been mentioned in the Friday the 13th movies. He was originally supposed to be included at the end of 1986’s Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives visiting Jason’s grave, but the scene was cut. The idea was that Elias was fully aware of the kind of monster his son was and knew he had been resurrected, but because this moment was cut, fans never got to learn about this mysterious man in the original series. However, he was still included in the movie’s novelization. He’s also been mentioned and made minor appearances in non-canon tales outside of the movies, like other novels and comics, and the general consensus is that he’s an intimidating man in his own right.
I think we can all agree that if Elias appears in the new Friday the 13th reboot, he’s not going to be a good guy. He may not be helping Jason commit these murders, but perhaps he has his own little killing spree going on the side. Either way, it’d be a good idea to keep an eye him.
Aside from this character inclusion, little is known about the latest Friday the 13th movie other than it will once again star serial killer Jason Vorheees with his iconic hockey mask and machete, though not necessarily right away. Producer Brad Fuller described this new take as being “origin-ish” as in it will retell Jason’s story from the beginning (including seeing his mother, Pamela), but there will be new or unrevealed elements that help distinguish it from what’s been seen before.
No release date has been officially set yet for the new Friday the 13th reboot, but we’ll keep you apprised of all the latest updates surrounding its development.
