Friday the 13th: Part 13 (found production material of cancelled reboot film; 2017)

From The Lost Media Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Tvshow maquette3.jpg

Concept art for Jason as he would appear in the film.

Status: Found

Date found: 1 Dec 2020

Found by: magnano33 and YoshiKiller2S

Friday the 13th is a multimedia horror franchise best known for the slasher Jason Voorhees and even more infamous for its numerous sequels. When Paramount acquired the rights to the series in 2013, plans for a new movie began almost instantly.[1] However, with numerous changes of directors and writers on the project and a drawn-out production time, the project was cancelled.

Early Drafts

Very little is known about the first screenplay. Writer and director David Bruckner described it as an “80’s coming-of-age monster movie”, with a found-footage style of filming.[2] Development quickly changed when Nick Antosca was brought in to write a more traditional slasher film.

The second screenplay, titled Friday the 13th 3D, would’ve taken place in the summer of 1988, with much more focus centred around the camp counsellors. It’s revealed that Jason didn’t die as a young boy and has been living in the woods of Camp Crystal Lake for years. Chaos ensues as the camp counsellors attempt to kill Jason, each attempt making him stronger. The script ends with the last surviving counsellors leaving town, only to discover that Jason is still alive.[3] Director David Bruckner was still set to work on the project. There were even plans for a sequel set during the winter. However, it never came to fruition.

Final Screenplay

This was the draft of the film that had the most development time and was the closest to completion. Now known as Friday the 13th: Part 13, the film was to take place in Camp Crystal Lake in 1977. Two camp counsellors are murdered atop the camp’s fire lookout tower by a man wearing a sack mask. The audience is to assume this masked man is Jason; however, we soon learn it’s Elias Voorhees, Jason’s father. The first 40 minutes of the film is focused on Elias. Elias is ultimately killed by his wife Pamela Voorhees in a fit of rage, and the movie then focuses on her. After witnessing her son drown, the second half of the film plays out much like the first Friday the 13th movie. Ultimately, there would’ve been three killers in the movie: Elias, Pamela, and Jason. After watching his mother die, Jason would go on a "full rampage" for the rest of the film, before he is ultimately defeated.[4]

Production

David Bruckner and Nick Antosca were no longer involved in the project. Instead, Breck Eisner was set to direct the film, with writer Aaron Guzikowski. The movie was to be a “hard R” and was planned to be filmed mainly in Georgia.[5] Originally scheduled to be released on Friday, May 13th, 2016,[6] it was pushed back to January 13th, 2017,[7] before being pushed back again to October 13th, 2017,[8] before being ultimately cancelled. It was expected to start filming in early spring to meet its October release date. Sota FX was hired to work on the effects of the film.[9]

Cancellation

It is still unclear as to why Paramount cancelled the movie so far into production. Many speculate the poor box office performance of Rings, another horror reboot produced by Paramount, was to blame.[10] The release date changing frequently was also a cause for concern, as well as the numerous changes in directors and writers.

Findings

On December 1st, 2020 Lost Media Wiki user YoshiKiller2S was sent a copy of the final draft of the film by Reddit user "magnano33." Yoshi later uploaded the draft later that morning.[11]

References