After there were reports of A24 canning Crystal Lake, the Friday the 13th prequel series headed by Hannibal’s Bryan Fuller, the official news is a bit mixed.
Fuller took to Instagram to reveal he was no longer involved with the project.
Bryan Fuller Leaves Crystal Lake
“Adapting classic horror is something I have some experience with,” wrote Fuller. ”These shows require a vision that elevates and transforms, as well as delivers what audiences have come to expect, which is an ambitious and risky endeavor. It requires people to take the leap with me.
“When it works, as with Hannibal, the results can be powerful for the storytellers and the audience. I couldn’t be more proud of the work my co-showrunner Jim Danger Gray and I were able to accomplish with our brilliant writing staff despite the challenges we faced.
“For reasons beyond our control, A24 has elected to go a different way with the material. We hope the final product will be something Friday the 13th fans all over the world will enjoy.”
So the upside is that A24 and Peacock are still going ahead with Crystal Lake, but now need a new showrunner, likely setting the project back.
Despite the prequel premise of the show, Fuller claimed it was ”Less of a prequel series and more of “a pre-remake-uel series,” which suggested a reimaging of the franchise beyond Jason’s origins.
Bryan Fuller was involved as writer, showrunner, and executive producer, with original Friday the 13th writer Victor Miller producing with Marc Toberoff, Rob Barsamian, and A24. Original star Adrienne King had signed up for a recurring role in the series.
A Legal tangle has meant we have not seen a new Friday the 13th film in 15 years, with 2009’s remake being the last one, with Jason X the last canon solo film in 2001, and 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason being the last canon screen appearance of Jason Voorhees.
A multiplayer video game and a puzzle game were made more recently. Still, they also notoriously succumbed to the aforementioned legal issues, with Friday the 13th: The Game unable to add any new Friday the 13th content after launch, leading to its demise.
