[Update: Per Variety, Paramount has not only pulled theFriday the 13threboot from its release schedule, but has cancelled the film altogether. The report notes that the disappointing box office ofRings, along with the fact that the rights toFriday the 13threvert to New Line Cinema soon, are among the reasons why the studio has opted to throw in the towel. The film was given a tax incentive last year to shoot in California, but it missed the window to start filming. Now it appears the studio is just going to let the rights revert back to New Line. Our original story follows below.]
Paramount’s long-developedFriday the 13threboot just can’t catch a break. Today, the studio announced that bothFriday the 13thand their equally long-developedWorld War Zsequel have been pulled from their previously announced release dates.World War Z 2was set to arrive on June 22, 2025, andFriday the 13thwas scheduled for June 15, 2025. Instead,Darren Aronofsky’s mysteriousJennifer Lawrence-ledmother!will take the October slot, squaring it up for a prime awards-contender release.
This is only the latest shakeup forFriday the 13th,which the studio has struggled to crack in the years since Paramount landed the property in the 2013 deal that handed Warner Bros.Christopher Nolan’sInterstellar. At one point there was talk about a found footage approach. For a whileSignalandV/H/ShelmerDavid Brucknerwas on board to direct. Then the studio brought inPrisonersscribeAaron GuzikowskiandThe CrazieshelmerBreck Eisner.Last we heard, they had found their lake and were set to film this spring.
Recent casting details have surfaced, so it seems likely that this is but another delay for the reboot unless the studio opted out at the last minute. Recent reports have suggested that the film would focus on Jason’s childhood and his overbearing father, something that sounds like a genuinely dreadful idea on paper. Hopefully, the delay will give the powers that be time to realize the whole troubled childhood thing really didn’t work out so well with thoseHalloweenremakes.
In the case ofWorld War Z 2, it seems the sequel taking after its predecessor, which had a famously troubled production. However, the news isn’t exactly surprising. Anyone out there who remembered the film was supposed to drop this June was probably expecting a delay. You don’t go through pre-production, filming and post on a tentpole in four months.Varietyreports that Paramount is using the time to develop the script with an eye on a 2018 or 2019 release date.
The ImpossibleandWhen a Monster CallsdirectorJ.A. Bayonawas set to helm the sequel from a script byLockescribeStephen Knight. A little over a year ago the studio recruitedUtopiacreatorDennis Kellyto rewrite the script and shortly after, Bayona dropped off the project to finish post-production onWhen a Monster Callsbefore moving on toJurassic World 2. Last we heard, star and producerBrad Pitthad been in conversations with his long-time collaboratorDavid Fincherto take on the property, which would be an extraordinary get for the project.
