Friday the 13th fans have been waiting since 2009 for another installment in the long-running slasher movie franchise (a TV series is also in the works), but the project has been stuck in what's popularly known in Hollywood as development hell.
First conceptualized as a sequel to Platinum Dunes' 2009 reboot, the project has since been re-rebooted and most recently had V/H/S and The Signal helmer David Bruckner signed on to direct from a script penned by Hannibal writer Nick Antosca. Well, that's no longer the case; Bruckner has since left the project, which now has a new screenwriter — Prisoners scribe Aaron Guzikowski — attached to bring Jason Voorhees back to the big screen. During an interview with Bruckner about his new anthology film Southbound, I asked the director what a Friday the 13th movie directed by him might have looked like, and I found his answer refreshing and surprising. Here's what he had to say:
“It was a proper reboot. The final version that we were working on was with a writer Nick Antosca, who writes for 'Hannibal,' or did, rather. It was a proper 'end of the summer' summer camp movie that took place in the late '80s…I like to say that 'Dazed and the Confused'…was a huge inspiration to me in how we approached the character relationships, just because that's a movie that captures a kind of a timeless — even though it takes place in the '70s — a very timeless, nostalgic experience. And it's very much — you chart several characters at once, it's very much an ensemble piece, and you really are able to get at this coming of age vibe. I just wanted to see a movie where you're that invested in everybody and [then] Jason Voorhees [shows up].”
Imagine that: a Friday the 13th movie where you actually care about the characters! I'm no big fan of the franchise, but somehow I'm lamenting what might have been.