It seems even the legendary masked slasher, Jason Voorhees, isn’t immune to the horrors of Hollywood’s financial anxieties. While other horror icons like Michael Myers and Leatherface have been resurrected for new scares, poor Jason has been stuck in cinematic purgatory since 2009.
Whispers of a “Jason Universe” have tantalized fans, but recent revelations suggest that our beloved hockey-masked killer might be benched for a while longer. At Texas Frightmare Weekend, series co-creator Sean Cunningham spilled the beans (and maybe a few entrails) about the holdup.
Turns out, it’s not just the tangled web of rights issues plaguing the franchise. Cunningham reckons studios are simply too scared to invest in a new Friday the 13th flick. They’re shaking in their boots, worried that Jason’s box office pull might not be as strong as it used to be. Apparently, the pandemic changed our movie-going habits, leaving studios spooked about big-budget horror flicks.
But wait a minute! Haven’t recent horror hits like “Tarot,” “The Strangers: Chapter One,” and “Night Swim” been raking in the dough? And isn’t New Line, the studio behind “Evil Dead Rise” and “The Nun II” (both box office successes), also the proud owner of the Friday the 13th trademark? So, what gives? Why is Jason getting the cold shoulder?
It’s a mystery worthy of a Friday the 13th sequel itself. Maybe Jason’s been cursed with a streak of bad luck, or perhaps Hollywood execs are just a bunch of scaredy-cats. Whatever the reason, it looks like we’ll have to wait a bit longer for Jason’s triumphant return to the big screen.
In the meantime, Jason fans can still get their fix in the virtual world. The Friday the 13th video game is still kicking around until the end of the year, and Jason himself is ready to rumble in MultiVersus. So, while we wait for Hollywood to summon the courage to bring back our favorite machete-wielding maniac, let’s just hope Jason doesn’t get too bored and decide to take matters into his own hands. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s crashed a party uninvited.
