Here’s why Paramount never made a sequel to Friday the 13th (2009)

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

One of the better remakes out there is Platinum Dunes' FRIDAY THE 13TH (2009). We have all been waiting for years at this point for a new entry in the series, but as we all know, lawsuits and whatnot are all but shutting the series down – for now. But why did it still take Paramount so long to greenlight another entry in the Jason Voorhees saga?

Well, producer Brad Fuller recently spoke to SyFy Wire about just that saying:

There was a couple of things. I think there was concern about the rights looming at that point. Paramount was concerned if they made that movie and the rights were not available… if you are going to make that movie, you want to be able to ride it for more than one or two movies. That didn’t exist in this rights structure. We were going down the road to make the movie, but, at the end of the day, economically and/or creatively, they didn’t want to make it.

There’s this clause in the rights that the rights revert back to New Line. As that date became closer and closer, Paramount would have made one Friday the 13th movie and then New Line would have benefitted if the movie was great. Then, New Line could have followed it up with subsequent movies. It put Paramount in a very tough position to go ahead and actually make the movie, and then us to reap the benefits if it was successful beyond that particular film.

Fuller was then asked if the rumor was true that the new FRIDAY THE 13TH film was put on hold due to the horrible sequel RINGS bombing at the box-office:

Yes, I do. That was also a time when sequels were not doing as well. We’re all kind of reactionary when you are making something. You are looking for evidence that tells you that what you are making is right on the cutting edge of where society is going, and you certainly don’t want to make something that feels like the timing is wrong. I wouldn’t say the whole thing fell apart because of that. I certainly think that played into it. But, I also think the rights and now the litigation about the right for Friday the 13th played into it in a much more substantial way than just how the Rings sequel did.

Bummer. I mean as a horror fan I understand why RINGS failed. I understand why BLAIR WITCH failed. But I think I speak for more than just myself when I say that those kinds of issues wouldn't plague another entry in the FRIDAY THE 13TH series. But who knows, maybe it is just me. But I doubt it. How do you feel about all of Paramount's reasons for not greenlighting a new FRIDAY THE 13TH film when they had the chance? Let us know below.