Throughout the ’80s, the Friday the 13th movie franchise earned a staggering eight installments, cementing murderer Jason Voorhees as a dominating force of pop culture, with artist Mike Chiechi crafting a hilarious parody of a Friday the 13th animated series that fans wish they could have gotten. The intro of the imagined “Jason and Friends” TV series pays its respects to series like Scooby-Doo by sending Jason on a number of adventures and introducing various supporting characters, but as one would expect from Voorhees, the encounters often end the blood and gore. Check out the hilarious intro for the fake series above.
Sadly, this video is both exciting and bittersweet, as the entire Friday the 13th franchise has been stagnating for years due to complications over the ownership of the series’ rights.
The original film was conceived by Sean S. Cunningham who hired Victor Miller to script the film. The original 1980 film is the only entry Miller was directly involved in, with recent years seeing the filmmakers enter a legal battle over who owns the concept, characters, and title.
What complicates matters is the fact that the original film only briefly featured Jason and his mother Pamela was instead the killer, seeking vengeance against all camp counselors after her son died at Camp Crystal Lake years earlier. Jason then became the killer in the sequel while ultimately earning his iconic hockey mask in the third film. While Miller won the court battle last year, Cunningham appealed the decision. The coronavirus pandemic has halted progress on the trial, with fans having a long wait ahead of them before a decision is reached.
Due to the nature of the franchise, it’s possible that future installments would potentially have to abandon the “Friday the 13th” title or possibly avoid using the Jason Voorhees character altogether.
The last entry into the series came in 2009 in the form of a reboot which embraced elements of all three original films. As fans waited for a new film in the series to move forward, Friday the 13th: The Game debuted in 2017 and embraced all corners of the franchise, adding new content on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the legal battle over the franchise not only covers the franchise’s theatrical outings, but also the world of video games, halting any developments on the popular game.
Stay tuned for details on the Friday the 13th franchise.
What do you think of the video? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
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