Plans for A24 and Peacock’s planned Friday the 13th television series “Crystal Lake” derailed earlier this year, with showrunner Bryan Fuller‘s (“Hannibal”) departure leaving the project in limbo. Deadline reports that the project is back on track, enlisting Brad Caleb Kane (It: Welcome to Derry) as the new showrunner.
Kane will serve as the series’ creator, showrunner, writer and executive producer.
To refresh your memory, Peacock had given the project a straight-to-series order in 2022, with “Crystal Lake” being described as an “expanded prequel” to the original Friday the 13th franchise featuring both Jason Voorhees and his mother, Pamela. Additionally, Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice) and Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry, Carrie) were set to direct episodes, with the budget ballooning to around $10 million per episode. With eight episodes in total planned for the first season, it would’ve cost A24 roughly $85 million to bring the series to life, with additional seasons being planned by the studio.
Expect the direction to change completely now that a new showrunner is in place.
Kane has most recently served as co-showrunner and executive producer of It: Welcome to Derry, an anticipated It prequel series starring Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. In addition to Kane, exec producers on the series include A24; Victor Miller, who wrote the screenplay for the franchise’s original 1980 film; Miller’s copyright attorney, Marc Toberoff; Robert M. Barsamian and Robert P. Barsamian. The project will mark A24’s first major IP-driven project amid a recent effort to expand in a more commercial direction.
“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,” said Kane in a statement. “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.”
Now that “Crystal Lake” is back on track, expect to hear a lot more about this Friday the 13th prequel series in the coming months.
