Jason Voorhees Is Coming Back to Theaters: ‘Friday the 13th’ Taps the Director Who Gave Him the Machete and the Hockey Mask
It has been a long, quiet stretch for Camp Crystal Lake’s most famous resident. The last theatrical installment of ‘Friday the 13th’ was the 2009 reboot starring Jared Padalecki and Derek Mears. Since then, the franchise has mostly lived on in memory, merchandise and fan debate.
Legal issues are a big part of why it has been such a long wait between new official entries. That made the recent run of activity feel almost surreal for slasher fans. The Peacock and A24 prequel series ‘Crystal Lake‘ stars Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees and Callum Vinson as a young Jason. It dropped all 8 episodes on Oct. 15.
Now the franchise is aiming back at the big screen, and the timing is almost too perfect. In an exclusive, Deadline reports that a new ‘Friday the 13th’ movie is coming together for a 2027 release, the 13th entry in the series and the first film in nearly 2 decades. The news fittingly arrived on a Friday the 13th.
The director is the real headline here. Steve Miner, who first put the machete in Jason’s hands in ‘Friday the 13th Part II’ and introduced the hockey mask in ‘Friday the 13th Part III’, is set to direct from a script by emerging screenwriter David Fliegel. That means the man who helped define Jason’s look is returning to the lake.
Miner has history with the series and with horror in general. He directed ‘Friday the 13th Part 2’ in 1981 and ‘Friday the 13th Part III’ in 1982. He is also the only director who took on more than one ‘Friday the 13th’ movie. His other genre credits include ‘Halloween H20’ and ‘Lake Placid’.
In comments to Deadline, Miner reflected on that mask and what it became, adding that he’s “thrilled to come back and continue the legacy.” It’s a nostalgic note, but it also signals how much he wants to honor what he built.
The business side is just as interesting. The Barsamian family, which controls the franchise through Horror, Inc., will finance and produce the film, returning the series to its independent roots. Cineverse is set to distribute.
Horror, Inc. executive vice president Robbie Barsamian says Jason’s identity is tied to Miner’s creative choices, and that working independently allows more creative control. He frames the project as the definitive theatrical event today’s audiences expect. It’s a confident pitch for a character who has been through reboots, crossovers and decades of legal wrangling.
The promise to fans is specific. The next installment is meant to welcome a new generation of horror fans into the Jason Universe while delivering the practical kills and terror longtime fans crave. After the character-driven tone of the prequel series, that points toward a very different kind of experience.
The contrast with ‘Crystal Lake’ will be fascinating. The series tells the origin of Jason through his mother, as a character study of the woman behind the first film’s twist rather than a straight slasher. Showrunner Brad Caleb Kane has insisted it is still “100 percent” a slasher series at heart.
The new film looks set to lean into the machete, the mask and the old-school body count. Kane serves as writer, showrunner and executive producer on the series, with original ‘Friday the 13th’ writer Victor Miller on board as an executive producer. Whether the movie and series will connect is not something the reporting has addressed.
Horror fans also have another franchise in the mix. A new installment of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, centered on Jason’s disfigured child murderer foe Freddy Krueger, is percolating at Paramount Primal. The classic slashers are clearly having a moment, and the competition is only heating up.
For all the excitement, details are thin. No cast has been announced, and there’s no word yet on a plot or a specific release date beyond 2027. Fans will be watching for a lead actor to step into Jason’s boots, and for a first look at the film.
What is clear is that Miner’s return is a smart nostalgic play. He gave Jason his signature weapon and his signature look, and he now has the chance to give the character a proper theatrical comeback. After nearly 2 decades away, that’s reason enough for slasher fans to circle the date.
What are you most excited to see from the new Friday the 13th movie directed by Steve Miner?
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