Crystal Lake Raises Big Questions About The Next Friday The 13th Movie

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This article contains spoilers for "Crystal Lake" Season 1.

"Friday the 13th" fans have had to exercise a lot of patience over the last 17 years. The last time Jason Voorhees graced the silver screen was back in 2009. Save for last year's "Sweet Revenge" short film, it's been dry out there for one of horror's biggest slasher icons. But this year finally brought with it something meaningful. Peacock's "Crystal Lake" is a prequel series all about how the Voorhees legend is born, but it complicates matters for the future of the franchise — particularly a new movie.

The show is largely focused on Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini), taking place mostly in 1972, a full eight years before the events of the original "Friday the 13th" movie. Pam is a single mother grieving for her young son Jason, who drowned at Camp Crystal Lake. In the aftermath, strangers arrive at her door, setting off a disturbing chain of events.

Season 1 of the series leaves much to discuss, including the big twist that strongly suggests Jason Voorhees is unkillable because he is a bioengineered mutant who has super cockroach-like abilities. The "Crystal Lake" showrunner has defended that controversial Jason Voorhees twist, but it's now part of the canon nonetheless. There's also the matter of us now knowing who Jason's father is, namely Elias (Hamish Linklater). It's a lot.

What does all of this mean for those who have been waiting for a new movie? A new "Friday the 13th" movie is happening and at least one director has pitched his take. The folks behind Jason Universe, a cross-platform expansion initiative launched in 2024 in partnership with original "Friday the 13th" screenwriter Victor Miller, are putting the new film together, but their exact plans remain a mystery.

Peacock

The "Crystal Lake" Jason Voorhees origin twist will leave some "Friday the 13th" fans furious. Are the producers behind this new movie going to be hamstrung by the new canon established in the show? Are they going to just ignore it entirely and go in a different direction? That would leave us in a place where we could have two diverging iterations of the franchise at the same time. That could be messy and confusing — though not without precedent.

In 2019, a "Child's Play" reboot that totally f****d with the canon was released in theaters, while a "Chucky" TV show was also in development. Ultimately, the "Chucky" TV show prevailed and the long-established canon lived on. The remake was a one-and-done. Many fans would argue there was literally no good reason to remake "Child's Play," and in light of the remake not getting a sequel, those voices won the day.

Without getting into the weeds of it all, the "Friday the 13th" franchise got caught up in a very messy lawsuit several years back. That prevented another movie — or really anything — from happening for years. In 2021, it looked like the "Friday the 13th" case was potentially over. But the results of the case weren't simple, which is why it's taken so long for new projects to materialize.

"Crystal Lake" managed to wrangle all the rights for a TV show, but the movie seems to be trickier. The original movie didn't have an adult Jason nor did it have many of the elements that now define the series. What the new film can or cannot use still remains a little unclear. In some ways, the film and the TV show could be at war with one another. 

Peacock

For now, the biggest question is, can "Crystal Lake" and a new "Friday the 13th" movie peacefully co-exist? Can the two different sides of this wildly popular horror franchise not get in one another's way? It's hard to say.

Peacock and A24 got a TV show out into the world first. Whether or not it goes beyond Season 1 remains to be seen, but it's out there and people have consumed it. For what it's worth, "Crystal Lake" showrunner Brad Caleb Kane has teased Season 2 plans, so that's at least a possibility. If Peacock moves forward with another season, that would complicate things further for the new movie. If the show is canceled? That paves the way for the movie to just be next in line.

Many fans of the series want to see a version of Jason Voorhees that resembles the one they know and love doing his thing. The 2009 "Friday the 13th" remake conquered the box office and then Jason Voorhees vanished. While "Crystal Lake" does give us Jason, with all due respect, the kid version of Jason — who the show attempts to make a sympathetic character — may not be what a lot of fans had in mind. Or, at the very least, there's still an itch left to be scratched.

So much is left up in the air at the moment, but even though this franchise is back up and running for the first time in nearly 20 years, the situation is hardly ideal. We'll see where the chips fall, but as development continues, things could easily get more chaotic.

"Crystal Lake" is streaming now on Peacock.