Friday the 13th Legal Battle May End By June 2020

The legal battle over the Friday the 13th franchise might be coming to an end next June. The first Friday the 13th was released back in 1980, which was the start of a long-running slasher franchise. In the ’80s, a new Friday the 13th movie came out nearly every year, but things have been a bit slower lately because of a legal battle between two crucial men in the development of the original film.

Paramount Pictures owned the rights to the Friday the 13th franchise up until they sold the IP to New Line Cinema after the poor reception of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. Things didn’t go much better for New Line, but they were able to work with the original film’s director, Sean S. Cunningham, to make Freddy vs. Jason in 2003. Several years later, after the reboot in 2009, Cunningham and writer Victor Miller began a legal dispute on who actually owned the copyright to the series. A judge had ruled in favor of Miller when it came to the rights of the original movie; however, Cunningham appealed the court’s decision, making the future of the franchise unknown. Now it looks like the lengthy legal battle may finally be coming to an end.

Lawyer Larry Zerner (hat tip Screen Geek) recently posted on Twitter, giving fans an update on the legal dispute. According to Zerner, “The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has proposed oral arguments for the week of February 10th, 2020. This means there will probably be a decision by June 2020.” Zerner is not only a copyright lawyer, but he was also the star of Friday the 13th: Part III. Zerner’s tweet can be read below:

Even though fans haven’t seen a Friday the 13th movie in over a decade, there is a clear desire from fans and filmmakers to continue the series. Another Friday the 13th movie has been in development since the reboot was released in 2009, but the legal battle between Miller and Cunningham has made things complicated for the franchise. Last year it was revealed that LeBron James might produce a Friday the 13th film, and Jason Blum has also shown interest in getting involved with the franchise. That being said, nobody will get a chance to work on a new Friday the 13th until the legal battle between Miller and Cunningham has been resolved.

While June 2020 may seem a ways away, this is good news for horror buffs. For a while, there was no end in sight for this legal battle. While fans will get another update next year, there’s no telling if that will actually be the end of the legal battle. There has been a growing interest in ’80s horror in the last decade, with popular franchises like Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street making a comeback to scare audiences once again. Jason Voorhees is one of the most recognizable faces in the horror genre, and he will no doubt return to the big screen for another Friday the 13th, eventually.

Source: Larry Zerner (via: Screen Geek)

About The Author

Christopher Fiduccia
(1115 Articles Published)

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Christopher is a news writer, editor, and senior trainer at Screen Rant. He graduated from Rock Valley College in 2018 with an Associate of Arts degree and a Media Production Specialist certificate.

After running his own movie blog for over five years, Christopher joined the Screen Rant team in 2018 as a list writer. Christopher is a sucker for ‘80s horror and giant monster movies but has covered a wide range of topics during his employment at Screen Rant.

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