It's been a couple of years since we first got word that a new Friday the 13th prequel series is moving forward at Peacock, and we finally have our first bit of casting news for the show.
Jeff Sneider first reported that Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks, No Good Deeds, Scooby-Doo) was in early talks to take on the key role of Jason Voorhees' mother in Crystal Lake last month, and Deadline has now confirmed that she has officially been cast.
Cardellini also played Clint Barton's wife, Laura, in Avengers: Endgame and Hawkeye.
According to the site, this take on Pamela Voorhees will be "a mother who had given up a singing career to raise a special needs child and takes a dark turn when she loses her son."
Brad Caleb Kane (Welcome to Derry) came on board as showrunner when Bryan Fuller parted ways with the project last year.
Fans have been waiting for something to be done with the Friday franchise for many years now, but the news that Crystal Lake would be a prequel series dampened excitement somewhat - as did a caveat that the show couldn't even feature an adult Jason or his signature hockey mask.
Fortunately, we would later learn that this part of the initial report was inaccurate.
Speaking to Fangoria in a 2023 interview, Fuller confirmed that they can basically utilize anything available to them "under the Friday the 13th umbrella."
“A24 and Marc Toberoff, who is Victor Miller’s lawyer, have beautifully and excruciatingly assembled all of the Friday the 13th rights. As a streaming series, we have the rights to do everything underneath the Friday the 13th umbrella.” Fuller confirmed.
“The movie rights are a completely different thing. They are tied up at New Line and are super, super messy and probably won’t be untangled anytime soon, but as far as us chickens in the television industry, uh, roost, we have access to anything and everything that Friday the 13th has done up until this point.”
Interestingly, Fuller also described the show as a "pre-remake-uel series," though he declined to elaborate.
Kane shared the following statement when he took over as showrunner.
“From the moment I watched Jason Voorhees squeeze a guy’s eyeball out of its socket (in glorious 3D!) at the tender age of 8 years old, I knew my creative path was someday destined to converge with The Man Behind The Mask. Nothing defined my childhood more than growing up in the golden age of the slasher flick, and nothing’s defined the genre more than Friday the 13th. I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to contribute a chapter to this iconic franchise, particularly with such fearless partners as Peacock and A24.”
We're still not sure what to expect from Crystal Lake (a bunch of camp counsellors ignoring a young Jason until he drowns and his mother plots her revenge?), but at least we know that they can build towards the unstoppable masked maniac getting axe-y with a bunch of teens after paying a visit to his favourite sporting goods store.
Fuller will also serve as showrunner and executive producer. Victor Miller, who wrote the first movie, will executive produce along with Marc Toberoff, Rob Barsamian, and A24.
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