'Crystal Lake', prequel series to 'Friday the 13th' seeks new showrunner

It has just been officially confirmed that Peacock and the study A24 will continue with the development of Crystal Lake, a prequel series to the saga Friday the 13th.

The announcement also came with another novelty: Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) will leave the television project. Fuller was on board as writer, showrunner and executive producer. Fuller explained it in the following way on social networks:

“For reasons beyond our control, A24 has chosen to follow a different path with the material. We hope the final product is something that fans of Friday the 13th everyone enjoys it.”

Fuller's full message can be found at the end of this note.

Crystal Lake was ordered to series in 2022 by Peacock. Victor Millerscreenwriter of the original classic, was also announced as executive producer alongside Marc Toberoff, Rob Barsamian, and A24.

The series is described as a “expanded prequel” from the original film, which will feature the return of the characters Jason Vorhees and his mother, Pamela Vorhees. The story will cover the life and times of these two characters.

Adrienne King, final girl de Friday the 13th, previously signed on in a recurring role in the series. AND Kevin Williamson (Scream, The Faculty) as a scriptwriter for an episode.

It's been fifteen years since we last saw Jason Vorhees on the big screen. The last film was the 2009 reboot. It later became caught in a legal dispute between Sean Cunningham – director of the original film – and Victor Miller –screenwriter of the original– to have control of the property rights.

The legal case, which was decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, had Miller winning the rights to the character he created after a battle over copyright termination. The original film's producers, Horror Inc., which includes Barsamian, had argued that Miller's involvement was a work-for-hire, but a judge ruled that he was not. The case paved the way for Miller to license a prequel series.