Jason Voorhees is a slasher icon, however he is been notably absent for the higher a part of 20 years. The final time we noticed him was when the “Friday the thirteenth” remake conquered the field workplace in 2009 — after which he disappeared. Now, although, the beloved horror franchise is making a comeback as Peacock has introduced the discharge date for “Crystal Lake,” a prequel streaming collection that would be the first significant entry within the franchise to come back our manner in additional than 17 years.
In keeping with Selection, “Crystal Lake” will premiere on the Peacock streaming service on Thursday, October 15, simply in time for Halloween. The “Friday the thirteenth” prequel collection is headed up by showrunner Brad Caleb Kane, who’s coming off “It: Welcome to Derry” and, not for nothing, supplied the singing voice of Aladdin for Disney. The brand new present will star Linda Cardellini (“Lifeless to Me,” “Scooby-Doo”) as Pamela Voorhees, Jason’s mother, who was the killer within the authentic 1980 slasher traditional earlier than Jason took over killing duties within the sequels.
It is a huge deal for longtime followers, because it represents the primary significant undertaking within the franchise for the reason that ’09 film. Final yr noticed the discharge of a brief movie entitled “Candy Revenge,” which starred actor Schuyler White as Jason Voorhees. However that was only a quick, and had a tough time dwelling as much as years’ price of pent-up demand from horror hounds.
This TV present will undoubtedly have extra meat on its bones, however it additionally nonetheless has to shoulder a number of duty. Dwelling as much as these lofty expectations is undoubtedly going to be a tall order.
Crystal Lake may need a troublesome time pleasing Friday the thirteenth followers
In keeping with Selection, the A24-produced “Crystal Lake” TV present “follows Voorhees’ life previous to the occasions of the primary ‘Friday the thirteenth’ movie.” There’s rather a lot to unpack there. A prolonged, ugly “Friday the thirteenth” authorized case was lastly settled in 2023, after authentic director Sean S. Cunningham and screenwriter Victor Miller had been at odds for years over the rights. With out moving into the weeds an excessive amount of, primarily, the rights had been break up up. Miller received the rights to his authentic screenplay, however that script would not characteristic an grownup Jason Voorhees, who grew to become the centerpiece of the franchise within the sequels. (He did not even get his traditional hockey masks till “Friday the thirteenth Half III” in 1982.) In the meantime, Cunningham and Horror Inc. management different rights inside the franchise, together with the grownup Jason, however cannot use something Miller obtained within the divorce.
That has difficult issues. Seemingly, “Crystal Lake” cannot use the “Friday the thirteenth” title and branding, nor will it concentrate on the grownup Jason that almost all followers affiliate with the franchise. As a substitute, Callum Vinson will play a youthful Jason who finally drowns in Crystal Lake, main Pamela on her path of lethal revenge.
Whether or not or not such a prequel can actually fulfill the expectations “Friday the thirteenth” followers have stays to be seen. On the similar time, “Candy Revenge” director Mike P. Nelson has confirmed {that a} new “Friday the thirteenth” film is occurring, although it is also unclear how that is going to work amidst the continuing rights issues.
“Crystal Lake” Season 1 premieres on Peacock on October 15, 2026.
