'Friday The 13th' Sequel May Investigate Jason's Immortality; Producer Offers Story And Budget Update

Today is Friday the 13th and you're probably seen images of Jason Voorhees, the killer at the center of the crazy successful Friday the 13th franchise, all over social media. The last film in the series was released in 2009 and a sequel has been in works since then. It was originally supposed to come out early this year, and is now set for May 13, 2016.

However, in that time we've heard very little concrete information on the film. We know Paramount will distribute. We know Platinum Dunes will produce and David Bruckner will direct. After that, the speculation has run rampant: will the next Friday the 13th sequel will once again reboot the franchise? Will it be found footage film? How will it use Jason?

Brad Fuller, one of the heads of Platinum Dunes, sat down with Esquire Magazine to offer some big updates on the franchise. The biggest being an interesting potential twist for the story, but also the assertion that it won't be found-footage. (Which will hopefully put that one rumor to bed for good.) Read the Friday the 13th sequel update below.

All of the below information comes from a great piece over on Esquire. If you're a Friday the 13th fan, it really is a must-read.

First up, the reason for all the delays is the best kind: story. Everyone is trying to come up with a story that both gives fans everything they expect from a Friday the 13th film – Jason, kids, sex, murder, summer camp – but also has a new hook or twist. Because of that, "the new movie could play with established mythology or a different time frame in Jason's life." Nothing has been settled on yet.

According to the article, as we've heard, there have been lots of writers working on the sequel over the years. However, in the next few weeks, Fuller hopes to settle on "two or three different "writers and a final direction for the film. The aim is then to shoot at the end of Summer to capture that perfect camp feel.

Unlike some of Platinum Dunes latest films – The Purge, Project Almanac – Friday the 13th won't be a micro budget movie. It'll be budgeted somewhere between the 2009 film's $20 million and The Purge's $3-4 million, Fuller says. And that means, despite rumors, the movie won't be a found footage film.

The biggest, most interesting revelation though is an idea Fuller and Bruckner have been discussing a lot: Jason's immortality. Here's Fuller:

There's always been this supernatural aspect to these movies. It defies logic that, you see Jason get killed in every movie, including ours, the 2009 one. And then he comes back and no one's ever really investigated what that is. So that's something that I think about a little bit. Like it is supernatural, but what is he? Those are the things that we're toying with. Nothing has been decided. But those type of things: How does he always come back?

People traditionally want to understand exactly how and why things happen, and yet something so odd happens at the end of these movies and no one seems to question it. So people come to the movie with the expectation that the real villain will be killed and come back. And yet we never toyed with that notion....Those are the things that we're asking ourselves. And we'll see what comes of it."

Do we need to know how and why Jason comes back? Of course not. That's part of what's great about him. But it's definitely an intriguing way to go with the character, if that's what they decide to do.

As of now, the Friday the 13th sequel will be out in May 2016. For more on the franchise, read the Esquire article and comment below on your thoughts.