Highlights:
- Adrienne King, final girl of the 1980 movie, is set to return in an undisclosed role
- The production appears to be aiming to shoot this Summer, with hints from the cast of a 2024 release
- The production has rights for all of Friday the 13th so far, including Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X
Jump to:
- Here’s what we know so far.
- Who is behind Crystal Lake?
- When is Crystal Lake filming?
- What was the Friday the 13th rights dispute?
- Who is in the cast of Crystal Lake?
- What is the plot of Crystal Lake?
- When will Crystal Lake be released?
- Will Crystal Lake premiere on Friday the 13th?
- Have any Friday the 13th movies ever been released on a Friday the 13th?
Keep an ear out for that bone chilling “ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma”.
If you are a fan of the Friday the 13th franchise, you are probably excited to hear that a new prequel horror TV series is coming to Peacock in 2024!
Here’s what we know so far.
The series, titled Crystal Lake, will explore the origins and secrets of the infamous Camp Crystal Lake (Colloquially known as Camp Blood to locals) from the original Friday the 13th films.
Director Brian Fuller has described the series as a “pre-remake-uel“. At this stage, we assume that this is something between a prequel and remake.
This camp is where the notorious horror movie slasher Jason Voorhees and his murderous mother Pamela Voorhees wreaked havoc on unsuspecting campers and counsellors (plus astronauts, Manahattanites, and even Freddy Kreuger) over the course of 12 terrifying horror movies.
The Friday the 13th franchise has been terrifying audiences since 1980, and after a long legal battle, the Voorhees hiatus is finally over!
Read on to find out what else we know about this upcoming horror series coming out in 2024!
Who is behind Crystal Lake?
Crystal Lake is being made in collaboration with Peacock, the streaming service of NBCUniversal, and A24, the acclaimed studio behind films like Hereditary, The Lighthouse, and Midsommar.
The series is created and written by blockbuster heavyweight Bryan Fuller, who is well-known for his work on hit shows like:
- Hannibal
- American Gods
- Star Trek: Discovery
- Pushing Daisies
- Dead Like Me
Fuller also takes on the role of executive producer and is joined by Victor Miller. You may know Miller as the writer of the original 1980 Friday the 13th film.
Watch the trailer for the original Friday the 13th below!
Bryan Fuller, the creator of the new prequel series Crystal Lake, has expressed his excitement about the project, stating,
“I discovered Friday the 13th in the pages of Famous Monsters magazine when I was 10 years old and I have been thinking about this story ever since. When it comes to horror, A24 raises the bar and pushes the envelope and I’m thrilled to be exploring the camp grounds of Crystal Lake under their banner”.
Kevin Williamson, the writer of 90’s hits Scream and The Faculty, and the creator of The Vampire Diaries, will also write at least one episode.
When is Crystal Lake filming?
Crystal Lake is reportedly aiming for a Summer 2024 production timeframe, so this will give us an idea about when the upcoming horror series will be released.
Filming during the Summer wil give the producers enough time for the new horror show to premiere during Halloween 2024!
We don’t know yet where filming will take place, however it is safe to assume that the campground is going to look very familiar to any fans of the 1980 Friday the 13th film.
What was the Friday the 13th rights dispute?
The Friday the 13th franchise became stagnant after it became stuck in a legal dispute over ownership between writer Victor Miller and director Sean S. Cunningham. This meant that the well-remembered 2009 Friday the 13th remake was the last (official) movie that we would get from this popular horror movie franchise for a while.
Have you seen the 2009 Friday the 13th remake? Watch the trailer below before checking it out!
The dispute arose when Miller attempted to reclaim the rights to the original 1980 film, thanks to a provision of U.S. copyright law that allows the original author of a work to regain the rights to that work after a period of 35 years.
Cunningham, however, argued that Miller’s script was a work for hire, and thus the intellectual property should remain with Horror Inc., the company that formerly controlled the franchise.
Victor Miller must be relieved to finally have his hands on the rights to the Friday the 13th franchise. Miller has been quoted expressing his dissatisfaction with the sequels.
Miller has stated,
“To be honest, I have not seen any of the sequels, but I have a major problem with all of them because they made Jason the villain. I still believe that the best part of my screenplay was the fact that a mother figure was the serial killer—working from a horribly twisted desire to avenge the senseless death of her son, Jason”.
It may be too early to say for sure, but it sounds like Victor Miller wants to bring in some ideas that may feel familiar to fans of the TV series Bates Motel. Bates Motel was also based on a popular 1960’s horror movie franchise, Psycho.
Who is in the cast of Crystal Lake?
The full cast of Crystal Lake has not been officially announced yet, but there are some hints about who might be involved.
One of the most exciting pieces of official news so far is that Adrienne King, who played Alice Hardy, the final girl of the first Friday the 13th film, will return to the series in a recurring role. King has teased her involvement on social media, posting photos with Fuller and saying that she is “so excited to be going back to Crystal Lake”.
Another rumoured cast member is Tom Savini, the legendary special effects makeup artist who worked on the first and fourth Friday the 13th films. Creator Brian Fuller appeared to tease that Savini might be joining the series in some capacity in a now-deleted tweet.
As for the role of Jason Voorhees, there is no confirmation yet, but some fans have speculated that fan favourite Kane Hodder, who played Jason in four films, might reprise his role.
We don’t know if Jason will be part of the series yet, but during an interview in 2022, Fuller told Fangoria,
“As a streaming series, we have the rights to do everything underneath the Friday the 13th umbrella. The movie rights are a completely different thing.
They are tied up at New Line and are super, super messy and probably won’t be untangled anytime soon, but as far as us chickens in the television industry, uh, roost, we have access to anything and everything that Friday the 13th has done up until this point.”
He also stated that taking the franchise back into space was an option, depending on the success of the show. He said,
“We can use everything. We can go to Hell, we can go to space. That’s not to say that we will do those things … although if we do go 10 seasons, I will be lobbying hard to go to space.”
While we are fan-casting the series, we are also keeping our fingers crossed that Kevin Bacon considers making a return to the franchise through a cameo role in this new horror TV series!
What is the plot of Crystal Lake?
The official synopsis has been reported as being “A group of friends vacation at a house that’s connected to a dark past”.
The plot of Crystal Lake is still a mystery, but it has been described it as an “expanded prequel“, whatever that means!
Interested in a more family-friendly summer camp horror movie that’s not too scary? Why not check out Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare. One of my personal favourites.
Watch the first 10 minutes of Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare below! See if you can find any Friday the 13th references.
The series will reportedly explore the history and stories behind Crystal Lake, the woodsy location where Jason Voorhees was drowned, resurrected, and became a legendary killer.
The series will also feature new and familiar characters, who will face the horrors of Crystal Lake in different time periods and settings. Fuller has also confirmed that the upcoming horror tv show will pay plenty of homage to the original Friday the 13th films for the fans.
When will Crystal Lake be released?
Crystal Lake does not have an exact release date yet, but it is expected to premiere on Peacock in 2024.
Brian Fuller confirmed at a screening of Friday the 13th: Part 3 (3D remaster) in January 2023 that writing was about to begin.
It seems that we have not heard much more news since then, although in March 2023 a photo did emerge of the writers room as it was in progress!
The tweet by writer Tananarive Due said,
“Just finished daily brainstorming sessions with this brilliant and wonderful group of humans, led by @BryanFuller, on the 1st season of the upcoming CRYSTAL LAKE Friday the 13th prequel series (A24/Peacock). This photo was taken the day Adrienne King (Alice) visited. What a ride!”
A few weeks later in March 2023, Adrienne King posted a photo of herself standing with Brian Fuller on her Instagram account – using the caption #coming2024 in her post!
This is a pretty significant hint that Crystal Lake will be premiering in 2024!
Her post read,
“Happy Friday Campers! Bryan Fuller, our bloody brilliant Head Counselor/ Producer of CRYSTAL LAKE, the upcoming series & I had another exciting meeting filling me in on what’s in store for us at Camp Blood! Always a joy & can’t wait until I’m able share some details!”
Crystal Lake will be the first official Friday the 13th project since the 2009 remake, and the first TV series based on the franchise since the unrelated Friday the 13th: The Series from the late 1980s.
Will Crystal Lake premiere on Friday the 13th?
If you are wondering whether Crystal Lake will premiere on a Friday the 13th, you are right to ask!
There are two dates that are both a Friday and the 13th in 2024 – and both of them are very possible candidates for a premiere date.
The dates are:
- 13 September 2024
- 13 December 2024
If pre-production is running on schedule, and considering that they expect to film the series this Summer, both of these dates have the potential to be the premiere date.
As we saw recently with the Chucky TV series and American Horror Story, many shows that were being broadcast when the Hollywood strikes occured were also in production at the time. This meant having to stop production and split the season across 2023 and 2024.
Many film and TV productions have resumed since the strikes, and some have already announced their return dates.
We don’t know yet whether the labor dispute strikes had an impact on the shooting schedule for Crystal Lake.
Have any Friday the 13th movies ever been released on a Friday the 13th?
Believe it or not, it has not been the most common strategy to release Friday the 13th movies on the titular date.
Only 5 of the the 12 movies have ever been released on the spooky date, which are:
- Friday the 13th Part III (August 13, 1982)
- Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (April 13, 1984)
- Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (May 13, 1988)
- Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (August 13, 1993)
The Friday the 13th remake also took advantage of the date, releasing in the US on Friday February 13, 2009.
This tells us that nothing is guaranteed until it is official. We will have to wait to find out what the premiere date is for Crystal Lake!
With at least one original Friday the 13th cast member returning and franchise creator Victor Miller teaming up with creative heavyweight Brian Fuller, this series is sure to be a hit.
We have never seen A24 handle a classic property like Jason Voorhees before, but we are excited to see what the studio is willing to do with the character now that the legal troubles have subsided.
Crystal Lake is one of the most anticipated horror series of 2024, and it will surely delight and terrify the fans of Friday the 13th and the classic horror movie genre in general. In the meantime, you can also rewatch the previous 12 films to prepare for the arrival of the new horror series.
Just remember, don’t go to Camp Crystal Lake on Friday the 13th!
Are you excited to go back to Camp Crystal Lake? Leave a comment letting us know what direction you think this series will take!
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