Anyone even somewhat familiar with the horror genre knows that no type of film is more prone to receiving endless sequels than a good fright flick. That's been true for decades, with Universal Pictures well-known for releasing multiple follow-ups to each of its classic monster movies. Perhaps no single horror movie has been subject to this practice more than Friday the 13th, which began life in 1980 as an unabashed ripoff of John Carpenter's Halloween, a fact the filmmakers have never denied.
Little did producer Sean S. Cunningham and the folks at Paramount Pictures know that such a modest effort would go on to spawn a series that has spanned 12 total entries to date. So popular was the Friday the 13th franchise that when Paramount decided to dump it in the early 90s, New Line swooped right in to make more, although the rights would eventually revert to Paramount. On the other side of the spectrum, 2013 big budget zombie opus World War Z was a film seemingly designed with a franchise in mind, right down to featuring A-list actor Brad Pitt in the lead role.
Yet, despite both World War Z and the last Friday the 13th installment -- released back in 2009 -- banking big bucks at the box office, Paramount has seemingly been in no hurry to get sequels to either film out there. Both World War Z 2 and the 13th Friday the 13th -- reportedly yet another reboot of the franchise -- have now spent years in development hell, with more than one director and writer(s) attached to each. Sadly, that trend doesn't look to be ending anytime soon, as The Wrap reports Paramount has pulled both films from its 2017 schedule.
World War Z 2 had been previously assigned the release date of June 9, 2017, while Friday the 13th has gone through multiple dates, with its most recent being October 13, 2017. Neither film has been assigned a new date, so for now, both are back in the Hollywood ether. In a related development, mother! -- Darren Aronofsky's latest directorial effort -- is set to slide into that October 13 date.
While World War Z 2 taking additional time to be put together is understandable -- given the sequel's large scope and scale -- one wonders why present day Paramount is finding it so difficult to make a new Friday the 13th film, when they managed to pump out one nearly every year in the 80s. After all, it's not like most Jason fans love his movies for their intricate plots or complex characters: they're simply there to see Jason kill people, and lots of them.
Next: Friday the 13th Reboot to Use Hockey Masks Based on Part 3
Screen Rant will have more details for you on World War Z 2 and the Friday the 13th reboot as they are made available.