Is Freddy Vs. Jason 2 Happening? The First One Left The Door Open For A Rematch
Ronny Yu's 2003 horror/action flick "Freddy vs. Jason" gave audiences pretty much everything they might want in a sensationalized cross-over between "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th." In addition to the requisite cast of pretty young people getting chopped into pieces by one of the film's two title villains, it featured every iteration of fight between Freddy and Jason. There was a fight in the dream world (where Freddy had the upper hand) and a fight at a real-world campground (where Jason did). There was a lot of growling, cutting, slashing, etc. Whichever villain was your favorite, you saw what you wanted to see.
At the end, the actual victor was left a little ambiguous. It seemed for a moment that Jason (Ken Kirzinger) was the winner, as he emerged from Crystal Lake, post-conflagration, holding the severed head of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). Freddy, however, still possessed of his supernatural powers, wasn't quite dead. The last shot of the movie was Freddy's severed head winking at the camera. That's a satisfying victory for both "Friday" heads and "Elm Street" fanatics.
The ambiguity of the ending — not to mention the film's overwhelming financial success — had some horror fans clamoring for more. And indeed, several ideas were floated in the wake of "Freddy vs. Jason" that would have brought additional iconic monsters to the fight. In early drafts of the "FvJ" script, Freddy and Jason — in an epilogue — would have been dragged into Hell to face Pinhead from "Hellraiser." There were also "Freddy vs. Jason 2" treatments floating around Hollywood that would have involved Ash from the "Evil Dead" movies. One of those treatments, by New Line executive Jeff Katz, eventually mutated into the limited comics series "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash" in 2007.
But where do we stand now?
Nostalgia for nostalgia
It's worth noting that 2003 was long after the closure of the slasher trends that spawned Freddy and Jason back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The ninth and ostensibly final film in the "Friday the 13th" series, "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday," came out in 1993. The seventh and ostensibly final film in the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" came and went in 1994. These monsters were in the past, and despite the success of teen slashers like "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" in the '90s, audiences were quite ready to let the old slashers go. 2003 seemed like a strange time to resurrect "Nightmare" and "Friday," but luckily nostalgia lingered. Even a decade later, audiences turned out in droves.
Of course, now "Freddy vs. Jason" itself is 20 years old. Talk of a sequel in 2023 is nostalgia for nostalgia.
As mentioned above, there were once real plans in place to make a "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash" movie, and internal memos from New Line at the time revealed that Freddy would finally, finally, finally die at the end. Ash (Bruce Campbell), the blustering a-hole from the "Evil Dead" movies, would remain alive by the end, but because he is generally a bumbling and unlucky character, would be sucked into an alternate dimension. That movie was never made, sadly, but for a moment, it seemed possible. According to a 2016 article in Bloody Disgusting, however, only Jeff Katz was interested in that story.
In 2020, Englund talked to TooFab and expressed regret that New Line didn't keep the ball rolling on a "FvJ" sequel.
More with Ash
It's a pity that Katz's treatment never made it off the ground — at least in cinematic form — as the story was interesting. "Jason Goes to Hell" featured a cameo by the Necronomicon, the book of evil magic that features heavily in the "Evil Dead" movies, meaning the two movies could both technically be in the same universe. An S-Mart, where Ash works, would open near Crystal Lake in New Jersey, giving Ash an organic reason to be there. Jason, natch, is still alive, while Freddy, being a dream demon, lives on inside Jason's head. Jason, in a rare bout of initiative, would use the Necronomicon to exorcize Freddy from his brain and manifest him back into the real world. The two would team up to fight Ash, who was, by coincidence, also searching for the Necronomicon.
This film, however, would have to have been made within five years of "Freddy vs. Jason." Too much time would have passed. Although multiple actors have played Jason, Ash has only ever been played by Campbell and Freddy by Englund. In a 2023 interview with Variety, Englund noted that he was too old and "too thick" to play Freddy anymore. Englund is 76, while Campbell is 65. Any "fight" they engaged in would have to be slow-moving. Campbell, meanwhile, has said he will only ever play Ash if he gets to work with Sam Raimi, the director of the "Evil Dead" movies. Raimi, meanwhile, has expressed half-interest in another "Evil Dead."
Personally, seeing these characters as older and slower-moving would still be fun. It wouldn't have the frenetic mayhem of a flick from the early 1990s, but "Old Freddy" sounds like he might be terrifying, while "Crotchety Ash" would be in keeping with the character.
Remake Freddy vs. Remake Jason?
Scuttlebutt around the internet has led to floated theories as to how a "Freddy vs. Jason" sequel could be made at this late date.
One might recall that many popular horror movies were remade during an unfortunate trend in the late 2000s, leading to Marcus Nispel's "Friday the 13th" in 2009, and Samuel Bayer's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" in 2010. The "Nightmare" remake starred Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy. Indeed, even "Evil Dead" was remade in 2013. Some have suggested that filmmakers simply remake "Freddy vs. Jason" using the characters' rebooted versions. The film could serve as a meta-commentary on the nature of remakes and the (lack of) popularity of the rebooted characters. While Nispel's "Friday" is perfectly decent, few are fond of the "Nightmare" reboot, however, meaning a remake of "FvJ" — or "FvJvA" — is unlikely.
There are also currently a lot of legal troubles surrounding "Friday the 13th," leaving sequels unmade for years. The 2018 lawsuit Horror Inc. v Miller (a terrifying showdown unto itself, no doubt) has left the rights to "Friday the 13th" up in the air. Victor Miller, who wrote the original film, asserts that the copyright belongs to him, while "Friday" producer Sean Cunningham maintains that Miller was a work-for-hire employee, leaving the rights with the company. Until all that can be cleared up, no "Friday the 13th" movies or TV shows will be made, including another "Freddy vs. Jason."
Creatively, there may be several ways into a sequel, and many creative people seem equal to the challenge, but legal troubles and aging actors will likely stymie efforts indefinitely. Horror fans may have to face the fact that their favorite monsters may finally need to be put to rest.