Rumor: Could ‘Friday the 13th’ Return to Halloween Horror Nights?

Halloween Horror Nights 2023 has reached the middle point of the season. However, public conversation has happened about Blumhouse wanting to reboot the “Friday the 13th” movies under their company. Could “Friday the 13th’ come to Halloween Horror Nights in the next two years?  We will quickly look at the reasons it could. Of course, there are plenty of reasons this will not happen.

If you know anything about Jason Voorhees and the “Friday the 13th” movie franchise, then you know the rights issues for this property are murky, to say the least. Some people own parts of it, while others control the rights to adult Jason Voorhees.

Any discussion of Jason Voorhees coming to Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) should be taken as a rumor at best. Still, the Blumhouse group has shown interest in acquiring Jason Voorhees’s rights. Blumhouse has a solid working relationship with Universal. In fact, Blumfest happens this Friday at Universal CityWalk Orlando. We will have coverage of that event in future days. The rumors of Jason Voorhees coming back to HHH start with Blumhouse.

Reasons “Friday the 13th” could come back to Halloween Horror Nights

Though the process of bringing Jason Voorhees to HHN looks improbable, some solid reasons lean towards the possibility. For example, Peacock streaming service, part of NBCUniversal, has the rights to do a prequel to the movies. That streaming offering will be “Crystal Lake.” That version should come out in 2024. Still, we do not know when in 2024.

Nonetheless, the most significant viable portion of this rumor connects to Blumhouse. The team at Blumhouse spoke about being interested in gaining the rights to “Friday the 13th.”

In speaking with the Inverse, Ryan Turek was asked what classic horror franchises they would consider the dream project for Blumhouse. He said, “Jason [Blum] and I are definitely in agreement that Friday the 13th is what we would love to get our hands on. I really want to go back to the basics. You don’t need too many ingredients for a Friday the 13th film. You need summer camp, you need campers, and you need Jason Vorhees in a mask.”

He promoted “The Exorcist: Believer,” which comes out in theatres on October 6 and is a Halloween Horror Nights house in Hollywood and Orlando. He expressed how great it was to do “Halloween.” Then, he said, “Friday the 13th” as a franchise is one that he bows down to. He told the Inverse “I just love everything about it. And if we were able to live in both worlds, like we do with Halloween, then to be able to live at Crystal Lake for a while would be so incredible.”

Blumhouse

If Blumhouse ever got the rights to “Friday the 13th” in any capacity, a partnership with Halloween Horror Nights would follow. The possibilities would be endless.

From “Friday the 13th,” Jason Voorhees has been a part of HHN before. For example, this franchise appeared in Friday the 13^th: Camp Blood and Jason vs. Freddy House. We know that Halloween Horror Nights would love to bring the classic movie franchise to its event. This all sounds too good to be true for fans of horror.

Reasons “Friday the 13th” could come back to Halloween Horror Nights

Still, many reasons stand in the way of this movie franchise returning to Halloween Horror Nights anytime soon. The movie rights are in chaos.

The “Friday the 13th” rights have been a mess for years. The screenwriter of the initial film won the rights to intellectual property from that original installment. Nevertheless, those rights do not include the adult Jason Voorhees, who doesn’t show up until later in the franchise. Significant issues have also existed around its moves between Paramount and New Line Cinema.

A24 landed the rights from the original film and has a prequel series heading to Peacock next year, “Crystal Lake.” This shows promise. However, the rights to the adult masked Jason Voorhees are controlled by the producer-director Sean S. Cunningham.

Turek’s comments about Blumhouse’s interest reflect others. Jason Blum of Blumhouse has spoken several times about how he would love to do a “Friday the 13th” movie. Still, he talked about how complicated rights made that problematic.

Could “Friday the 13th” return to Halloween Horror Nights? Could a colossal announcement happen at Blumfest this week about “Friday the 13th?” Those things could happen. Nevertheless, many steps need to occur before that possibility becomes a reality.

The chances of Jason scaring us at Halloween Horror Nights look unlikely for now. Still, we can always hope to visit Crystal Lake someday.