While we’re still waiting for the theatrical side of the Friday the 13th franchise to rise up from the lake, things are looking good for the previously announced small screen version of Jason Voorhees’ story. The original film’s director and franchise producer Sean Cunningham shared a few extremely interesting details about where the show will be headed, both in terms of story and network. Let’s break them down one by one.
1. It will take place at the “real” Crystal Lake. Cunningham was at the Monster-Mania convention this weekend, and according to the fansite Fridaythe13thFranchise.com, he shared that the show will take a meta approach in setting the premise in a (fictional) town that inspired the films with its own series of violent murders. (Note that Cunningham based the location on New Jersey’s Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, where the film was shot.) The story will look at how the movies have affected the town and its citizens, which sounds a lot like what both The Town That Dreaded Sundown films did, or even how the Blair Witch sequel was handled. This approach will probably get a lot of flak from fans who just want the slasher side of things to be the point, but I think it’s one of the more interesting ways they can tackle this material. To be fair, though, the realism aspect was also at the center of Jason Goes to Hell, which has a reputation for being the least beloved among fans.
2. Jason won’t be the only killer. That first point obviously brings up the question of how Jason is going to be handled, since he’ll be a fictional character within the storyline. And while we still aren’t quite sure how he’s going to show up outside of film clips, Cunningham shared that the murderer who inspired Jason will be seen throughout the series. The fansite reports that this “real” version will be a “more serious backwoods inspired killer.” Will this new/old villain also have a sports-inspired mask, or a hideous appearance? We can’t wait to find out.
3. The CW has confirmed interest in picking the show up. This might also make a lot of people balk, but it shouldn’t, as The CW is in the process of reestablishing itself as a network that specializes in genre fiction. They obviously have the superhero side of things handled with Arrow and The Flash, and they also have the horror-ish comedy comic adaptation iZombie and the sci-fi drama The Messengers coming in the next month. As well, they’re working on a Tales from the Darkside pilot and one for Cheerleader Death Squad. It remains to be seen how well any of these latter series will do in the long run, but I’m not as disinterested in a Friday the 13th series on The CW as I would have been five years ago.
Jason’s potential television debut is still presumably a ways off, but the fact that no one has thrown a machete in the spokes yet is a good sign. Do these new details make you guys more or less interested in what’s to come?
