7 Friday The 13th Sequels That Almost Happened
3. Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash
Horror titans clashed on the big screen in 2003 when Freddy vs. Jason hit cinemas, and the results were... let's say mixed.
The crossover was a goofy mess of slasher cliches, but a financially successful one that topped the box office and made $114.9 million off a budget of $30 million.
Before both franchises pursued reboots, tentative plans were in place for a second crossover that added another vintage horror series to the mix: Evil Dead. The series' wise-cracking hero Ash Williams would have done battle with Freddy and Jason, and no doubt kicked both of their asses to save the world from further sequels.
A treatment, but not a full script, was drawn up for Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash, and reports suggest it would have focused on Freddy attempting to get his hands on the Necronomicon to become corporeal again.
So what went wrong? According to Nightmare on Elm Street star Robert Englund, New Line Cinema wasn't keen to see Krueger take a beatdown in two films running.
Bloody Disgusting quotes him as saying...
"They were afraid, cause I was the most successful of the three franchises. I had this vision of the poster. Bruce Campbell with his shirt open and all of his abs spray painted and highlighted, with Freddy Krueger under [one] arm and Jason under [the other] arm."
Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell discussed the project in a recent Reddit AMA and revealed rights issues prevented Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash from moving forwards.
"One of the main reasons why Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash did not come to pass is because we couldn't control any other character other than Ash. That felt like a creatively bankrupt way to go. Not to mention, you're splitting the proceeds three ways with partners you might not want."
Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash did eventually happen, but not in the medium originally targeted. A comic series based on the treatment was published by Wildstorm and Dynamite Entertainment between 2007 and 2008, and went on to spawn a sequel.