Paramount Pictures has made some alterations to their schedule of upcoming horror features. The new Friday the 13th sequel was originally planned for release Friday, May 13, 2016. Instead, the feature will arrive on the big screen January 13, 2017. Meanwhile, The Ring sequel, Rings, has taken an April 1, 2016 spot. Originally intended for release this year, Rings was temporarily removed from Paramount’s schedule earlier this year.
One of the more popular entries in the slasher genre, the first Friday the 13th was released in 1980 and followed a series of brutal murders of teen counselors at Camp Crystal Lake. The killer was ultimately revealed to be Pamela Voorhees, a mother whose son, Jason, drowned in the lake years earlier due to the negligence of the camp’s staff. As the cinematic series progressed, Jason himself became the franchise’s iconic hockey mask-wearing, machete-wielding killer.
The Friday the 13th franchise currently consists of ten original “solo” films, the 2003 crossover Freddy vs. Jason, and, most recently, the 2009 reboot. There was also a short-lived television series that, despite its title, was unconnected to the plot of the film franchise. A new Friday the 13th television series is also currently in development for The CW.
The new Friday the 13th film is set to be directed by V/H/S helmer David Bruckner and will feature a screenplay by ‘Hannibal” co-producer Nick Antosca. Michael Bay and Andrew Form are also producing the new film through their Platinum Dunes, which also produced the 2009 film.
Rings, meanwhile, stars Alex Roe as Holt, a young man who begins to become distant from his girlfriend, Julia (Matilda Lutz), after watching the infamous deadly videotape the series is known for. “The Big Bang Theory” star Johnny Galecki will co-star in the film.
F. Javier Gutiérrez, best known for helming Before the Fall, is directing Rings, with Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman writing the script based on a draft by David Loucka.
