It’s been about 17 years since Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees duked it out on the big screen, but Freddy vs. Jason writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift are still holding out hope for one day making a sequel.
With a real Friday the 13th recently passing us by this month, Shannon and Swift took to Twitter to hold a special Q&A session with fans to talk about the crossover movie, along with the 2009 Friday the 13th remake, which they also wrote. The result brought about several interesting details about the writers’ unrealized plans, which include their continued desire to make Freddy vs. Jason 2.
During the Q&A, many fans took the opportunity to ask the two writers some burning questions, and Freddy vs. Jason got a lot of attention. One of the things Shannon and Swift spoke about was an original ending they had planned in an early draft of the screenplay, which would have brought in another iconic horror movie villain to turn the battle into a “triple threat match.” Because the 2003 film had Freddy resurrecting Jason from Hell to continue his killing spree, it would have made sense for Pinhead to appear in the film as well, which could have happened, according to the writers.
From Twitter, here’s what Shannon and Swift said about their original ending for Freddy vs. Jason:
“Our original ending had Pinhead coming into the mix as a little fun cameo!”
As Pinhead was in consideration to appear in the ending of Freddy vs. Jason, it seems like a logical next step for Shannon and Swift would have been to bring him into Freddy vs. Jason 2 if they were to script the potential crossover sequel. Recognizing this, another horror fan directly asked what the plot for the second movie would have been had they gone with the original Hellraiser crossover ending. In response, here’s what the writers said of their potential plot for Freddy vs. Jason 2.
“Not gonna tell you as we still want to get it made!”
Of course, the big takeaway here is that Shannon and Swift are still clearly keeping their fingers crossed for seeing Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees go to battle once more in another crossover movie, perhaps with Pinhead in the mix this time to make things even more complicated for the people trying to stop them. Perhaps we can even bring back Ashley Laurence as Kirsty Cotton to lend a hand, as she is to the Hellraiser series as Nancy Thompson is to the Nightmare on Elm Street series.
RELATED: ‘Freddy vs. Jason’ Ending Still Has Fans Debating Who Won
Something else revealed by Shannon and Swift in the Twitter Q&A is that franchise hero Tommy Jarvis would have ideally appeared in Freddy vs. Jason 2. In the Q&A, the pair tells a fan as much, suggesting they wanted to bring in Tommy for Freddy vs. Jason 2, though they don’t reveal how he’d have been used. After they were asked if they ever wanted to use Tommy for their Freddy vs. Jason script, here’s how Shannon and Swift responded.
“Yes, we did. In our unmade sequel.”
Between the fourth and sixth Friday the 13th movies, Tommy Jarvis had 2.5 battles with Jason (he gets a half-point for taking on a Jason copycat). It’s a shame we never did get to see the character return to the movie series after Thom Mathews last played him in Jason Lives, but at least this has since been rectified with Matthews appearing in Friday the 13th: The Game and the fan film Never Hike Alone.
Now, let’s get to the elephant in the room: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash. As the story goes, someone at New Line was interested in bringing in Ash Williams from the Evil Dead series for a potential sequel, with Bruce Campbell reprising the role. Though Campbell and Robert Englund were both interested in the crossover, the project never made traction, though it has since been adapted as a comic book series. With this in mind, another F13 fan asked Shannon and Swift if the groovy one would have been a part of their sequel idea for FvJ, and this is what they had to say in response.
“We did not want to do Ash. Honestly, no one really did at either studio (except a junior exec at New Line). I am sorry to tell you it was never really ‘real.'”
Finally, after noticing the fan response to their desire to make Freddy vs. Jason 2, Shannon and Swift followed up their Q&A session with one more tweet on their Twitter account, jokingly (or perhaps not so much) trying to set up a Skype meeting with the folks at New Line to deliver their pitch. Sure, the rights to Jason Voorhees and Friday the 13th are up in the air thanks to a legal battle, but it doesn’t hurt to ask, right? If they’re lucky, Shannon and Swift could be first in line for when Jason becomes available to appear in new movies again.
The people have spoken! Now, does anyone know how to set up a Skype pitch with New Line? https://t.co/MphphUDn0S
— Shannon & Swift (@shannonandswift) March 15, 2020
In the Q&A, Shannon and Swift also make it clear they would never want to see another Freddy movie unless Robert Englund was back in the role. Last year, Englund teased that he has one more Freddy movie left in him, but the physicality involved with another crossover movie with Jason may be a bit much for him at this stage of his life. It also seems more probable the Friday the 13th series will be rebooted once the issues with its rights are settled.
For various reasons, the project doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon, but if Freddy vs. Jason 2 ever comes to be, one thing is for sure: New Line would have to do Kane Hodder right and finally bring him in for his long-awaited battle with Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger. Recasting the fan-favorite actor for Freddy vs. Jason never really sat well with many fans, and Hodder deserves his chance to take on the Springwood Slasher. In any case, if you’re a horror fan really hoping to actually one day see this happen, be like Shannon and Swift and keep your fingers crossed.
