LeBron Jamesmight be a star on the basketball court, but he’s also carving a place for himself in Hollywood. He’ll be starring in an upcoming sequel to the ’90s hitSpace Jam, but James is very busy behind the camera with his SpringHill Entertainment banner as well. Several TV series and feature films have been released through the production company thus far, with several various projects currently in the works. Perhaps seeing the money to be made with reviving slasher movie franchises, James is now reportedly in negotiations with Vertigo Entertainment to produce a new reboot ofFriday the 13th.
It comes as no surprise to see movie producers vying for the chance to reboot the classic horror franchise. As we just saw this past weekend,Halloweencrushed the box office, shattering several records in the process. WithJason Voorheesjust as popular as Michael Myers (if not more so), now is certainly the time to bring the boy who drowned back to the big screen for another camp counselor killing spree. Most likely, Paramount is now regretting the decision to cancel their planned reboot of the series set to release last year, as they’ve since lost the film rights to the series.
The lengthylegal battle between current rights-holdersHorror, Inc. and original screenwriter Victor Miller had recently come to an end. A judge ruled in favor of Miller, granting him the rights to the characters and locations from the originalFriday the 13th, but not the adult “monster” version of Jason. Horror, Inc. has since filed an appeal and announced their plans to move forward with new projects involving Jason. With a financial powerhouse like James stepping in, however, perhaps a settlement to make everybody happy could come sooner than we may have thought.
If James is able to get the reboot made, it will oddly be the thirteenth film entry in the film series. After taking the story to Manhattan in the eighth film, the movies dropped theFriday the 13thname from the title, bringing usJason Goes to Hell,Jason X, andFreddy vs. Jason. The Platinum Dunes reboot in 2009 was simply calledFriday the 13th, marking twelve installments in the movie franchise so far. To make it to thirteen only seems right, and with Michael Myers andHalloweenopening the door, it’s looking a lot better forJason’s chances at getting back on the big screen.
It’s also interesting to note that this isn’t the first venture intoFriday the 13thfor LeBron James.The basketball starhas released sneakers with aFriday the 13ththeme, and is clearly a big horror movie fan. Hopefully, he’ll be able to help finally get the ball rolling on bringing Jason Voorhees back to the movie theater once again, as the film is basically guaranteed to make great money on a modest budget. This information was originally printed atBloody Disgusting.
