Monday the 15th

A few supplemental notes on the Friday the 13th reboot.

First, the remake may or may not mean there's no Freddy Vs. Jason 2. After Freddy Vs. Jason hit big in 2003 (budget $25 mil, $115 mil worldwide take), the usual wheels spun up. It seemed like mostly the dopey sort of talk that pervades IMDb message boards - and, in fact, the type of Superman-vs-Flash nerd argument that's been around for decades. Fans speculated, as they have a habit of doing, about the other heavy hitters (and some lightweights) in horror iconography: Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Leatherface? Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Michael? Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Chucky?

Soon, more fully formed rumors began appearing in semi-legit arenas. In 2004, New Line went looking into the rights for Ash, the role that made Bruce Campbell a cult hero in the Evil Dead trilogy. It seemed possible, but contingent on a few criteria. There was (and has been, and always shall be) talk of an Evil Dead remake/sequel/revival, which would be good for the visibility of both franchises, but complicated as far as buying rights. Sam Raimi certainly didn't need the money, and there was no reason to assume he'd sell off the rights to Ash to see him wasted in a pointless fan-service free-for-all.

A treatment turned up on the internet in 2005 (it didn't do much for me, but you can find it here). Ronny Yu, director of Freddy Vs. Jason, mentioned as recently as 2006 (doing press for Fearless) that New Line had been talking about a sequel. All this aside, Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash should remain in limbo for some time. The exception: a 6-issue miniseries from Wildstorm Comics, to arrive next month.

The Freddy Vs. Jason spinoff franchise has partial roots in comics: a rather silly Jason vs Leatherface three-issue miniseries, released in 1995 by the tie-in-happy, short-lived Topps comics imprint.

One more thing: no news on Crystal Lake Chronicles. Talk dates back to around 2004 on the proposed TV series set in Jason's stomping grounds of Crystal Lake and would depict the lives of the still-living young folks in the town. Rather than a slasher TV show, it would be a teen drama, a sort of horror Smallville, with Jason's legend prominent rather than Jason himself.

The idea was pitched by Geoff Garrett, assistant producer of Jason X, and Dan Farrands, writer of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (the sixth in the series). Friday head honcho Sean Cunningham signed on, but the series has been in limbo for years. Look for talks to start up again (but not for the series to get made) when the Friday reboot makes healthy money in 2009.