10 Status Updates On Iconic Horror Movie Franchises

by Andrew Pollard

1. Friday The 13th

Friday The 13th 2009
Paramount Pictures

Last Film Entry: Friday the 13th (2009)

What's Going On? After years of legal disputes, there's thankfully now some concrete movement for the Friday the 13th franchise.

Previously, anything Friday the 13th-related was stuck in a holding pattern due to original F13 director Sean S. Cunningham and screenwriter Victor Miller being embroiled in a battle over the copyright to the franchise. After years of court decisions being made, and subsequently appealed against, we're now at a place where fresh Friday the 13th content is on the horizon.

Most notably, a Friday the 13th TV series - titled Crystal Lake - is being developed by Hannibal's Bryan Fuller and A24 for the Peacock streaming service, with Miller involved as an executive producer and a chance of the show premiering before the end of 2024. As Fuller revealed to Fangoria, after questions on what may legally be allowed to be used in the series, "everything" is on the table for Crystal Lake. While he joked how the show could go to Hell (ala Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday) or space (ala Jason X), Fuller labelled this a "pre-remake-uel series" that will "see many familiar manifestations of Jason".

In terms of casting, the only piece of information known as of writing is that Adrienne King has an unspecified role in Crystal Lake. For horror hounds, that name will immediately ring a bell, for King played sole survivor Alice Hardy in the original Friday the 13th and made a brief, doomed appearance in the opening of Friday the 13th Part 2. Speculation suggests King will be playing a different character here, although other speculation suggests she'll be reprising that Alice role.

Elsewhere, Sean S. Cunningham, Hell's Kitchen director Jeremy Weiss - yes, that Hell's Kitchen - and writer Jeff Locker are exploring options for a Friday the 13th movie that would serve as a direct sequel to Cunningham's 1980 original picture.

Watch Next


20 Upcoming Movies We Know NOTHING About

Horror

Every Cancelled John Carpenter Film We NEVER Got To See

Horror

Why This Horror Movie Sequel Defied Expectations

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.