Friday the 13th fans have been waiting for a very long time for the official return of Jason Voorhees to the big screen. Though the mask-wearing, machete-wielding murderer has popped up in a slew of fan films, he has not appeared in an official Friday the 13th movie in theaters since 2009. Amid the continued wait, however, Jason provided a teaser of what’s to come with the launch of the official tie-in short film, Sweet Revenge.
Directed by Mike P. Nelson, Sweet Revenge is a 15-minute short featuring Jason as he will appear in the Jason Universe, a new direction for the franchise that will feature a newly-designed Jason across different mediums. The short was created as part of a partnership with Angry Orchard and was uploaded to the Jason Universe’s official YouTube channel last August. In December, it was removed from the channel without explanation.
Per JoBlo, Nelson has offered an explanation about the short’s disappearance during a recent interview for the Slash N Cast podcast. The filmmaker attributed the move to the “promotional period” for the short coming to an end, but the good news is that it’s not expected to stay buried forever. Nelson hinted that Sweet Revenge will be back online eventually, seemingly after issues with the rights involving Angry Orchard are sorted out behind the scenes.
“I believe it has everything to do with the promotional period,” Nelson said. “I know that’s not as sexy of an answer as I think everybody wants, but that’s what I believe it came down to, just promotion with Angry Orchard. I foresee it being reposted at some time, but as for now, that’s where it’s at.”
He continued, “It definitely was a bummer when it happened, and I didn’t even know that it happened. Somebody messaged me on Instagram, ‘Where did Sweet Revenge go?’ I was like, ‘What?’”
“I was able to talk to the people over at Jason Universe and what it came down to was that it was the end of a promotional period,” Nelson concluded. “That doesn’t mean that it’s officially gone, it just means that they need to work some stuff out to bring it back.“
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Reportedly, a feature length film featuring Jason Voorhees is also in the works, but very little has been revealed about its current status. There’s no word yet on when that film may start production or be released. New video games with the Jason Universe’s Jason Voorhees are also reportedly in development, though there has similarly been no major updates yet divulged. Meanwhile, a Friday the 13th prequel series, Crystal Lake, is being made for the streaming service Peacock; it is expected to be released later this year, but an official premiere date has not yet been set.
Check out the interview with Mike P. Nelson below.
