It’s now been over a decade since the last Friday the 13th movie made its way onto the big screen, and given the current legal messiness surrounding the franchise, it could well be a while longer before Jason Voorhees returns to theaters. Nonetheless, YouTuber Jimmy Champane is now bringing us word of a recent development that’s given fans hope that the situation could be resolved as soon as next month.
Last September, we learned that Victor Miller, writer of the original 1980 Friday the 13th, had won back the rights to the character of Jason after a lengthy legal brawl with director and producer Sean S. Cunningham, one which has been keeping the franchise in a state of limbo. Shortly after that, however, things took another interesting turn when Cunningham filed a notice of appeal, ensuring that the battle would continue on for a while longer.
Just recently, though, it was revealed that the producer’s appeal had been withdrawn, and while it was done so purely for technical reasons, this means that Cunningham is now left with two options: either refile the appeal and continue on with what’s no doubt an expensive courtroom battle only to possibly lose again, or settle out of court with Miller and find a way to bring us more Friday the 13th movies.
Unfortunately, we’re still waiting to see which route he’ll take, but Champane posted the video below to his YouTube channel recently where he updated us on the situation, saying that there’s been word of a settlement happening as Cunningham’s chances on the appeal are said to be small and apparently, he knows that. Not to mention that an appeal would take another few years. As such, it might just be in everyone’s best interests at this point to settle.
So, while things may still be looking a bit iffy for Friday the 13th right now, it does seem inevitable that we’ll be getting more Jason in the not too distant future. In fact, back in the fall, it was reported that LeBron James and his SpringHill Entertainment company were in talks with Vertigo Entertainment to do something with the property, while Ryan Turek from Blumhouse Productions has also expressed an interest in trying to get a reboot off the ground.
Whatever ends up happening for Mr. Voorhees and Friday the 13th as a whole, we imagine we’ll find out soon. This courtroom drama has dragged out long enough already and it seems like everyone involved knows it. Here’s hoping the two parties reach a settlement next month so that we can start seeing new films in the series again.
