A24’s ‘Friday the 13th’ Prequel ‘Crystal Lake’ Finally Enters Pre-Production—Here’s What We Know!

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After a 16-year hiatus, the “Friday the 13th” horror franchise seems to be making a comeback, bringing excitement to its dedicated fanbase. The brand, which has faced delays due to legal disputes and production turmoil, is now showing signs of revival. This isn’t just speculation or wishful thinking; the Intel suggests that the IP is indeed gearing up for a return, causing fans to dust off their hockey masks in anticipation.

Based on a recent Instagram post, I’ve been privileged to be part of the team working on the upcoming “Friday the 13th” series, “Crystal Lake,” as confirmed by Brad Caleb Kane, our showrunner. The exciting news is that we’ve started pre-production on this A24 prequel series! A snapshot of a script draft, penned by Kane himself and copyrighted by Camp Blood LLC, was shared to prove the project’s progress. “Crystal Lake” is inspired by the original characters conceived by Victor Miller for the 1980 film that kicked off this horror franchise.

What Do We Know About ‘Crystal Lake’ So Far?

The primary detail about Crystal Lake is that Linda Cardellini has been cast to play Pamela Voorhees, a character originally portrayed by Betsy Palmer in the 1980’s Friday the 13th. This series, being developed for Peacock by A24, presents a fresh interpretation of Pamela as a mother who abandoned her singing career to raise a special-needs child, leading to a tragic turn when she loses him. If the storyline adheres to the film’s backstory, the son she loses will be Jason Voorhees, who met his end when the camp counselors were busy with each other while he drowned. As is common in prequels, this upcoming series appears to delve deeper into Jason’s origin while maintaining essential aspects of the original plotline.

The upcoming series titled “Crystal Lake” is set to be a prequel for the “Friday the 13th” franchise, delving into the backstory of characters Pamela and Jason Voorhees. After years of legal disputes over the intellectual property rights, the necessary arrangements have finally been made to move forward with the project. Earlier, there were uncertainties regarding what elements could be incorporated for the TV series, particularly concerning the iconic character, Jason Voorhees, but it has now been confirmed that all aspects falling under the “Friday the 13th” IP can be utilized. This confirmation comes from Bryan Fuller, who was initially in charge before creative disagreements arose between him and A24.

Marc Toberoff, Victor Miller’s attorney, and A24 have carefully compiled all rights related to the Friday the 13th franchise. This means that for our streaming series, we have the freedom to create content under the Friday the 13th brand. However, the movie rights are a separate matter, currently held by New Line. Unfortunately, they’re in quite a tangled mess and it seems unlikely they’ll be sorted out anytime soon. But within the television industry, we can utilize any and all aspects of Friday the 13th that have been developed up until now.

Currently, there’s no announced release date for “Crystal Lake.” However, Miller is set to serve as the executive producer along with Toberoff, Rob Barsamian, and A24 in this project.

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2025-04-23 17:36