Freddy vs. Jason is the definitive horror crossover movie, but there was initially another famous serial killer who was at one point included in the project — here's how Ted Bundy made it into an unmade draft.
Horror's slasher sub-genre is responsible for some of cinema’s most memorable monsters, and there are few that are more iconic than Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees. The characters still resonate decades after their initial release, and they’ve even found themselves making appearances in alternate avenues like the Mortal Kombat video game series as ambassadors for the horror genre.
Both Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street have made their marks on horror in different ways, but Freddy vs. Jason was a highly anticipated movie event that put the two genre juggernauts against each other. Freddy vs. Jason is the ultimate form of fan service and wish fulfillment as it allows Freddy and Jason to share a connected horror universe together. Their showdown prompts the potential for many more crossover versus experiments, but the movie itself was a rather straightforward affair, especially given the dark humor of the wise-cracking Krueger. However, one draft of Freddy vs. Jason upped the ridiculous factor by also having one of the most notorious serial killers step in as a mediator of sorts between the two fictional killers.
Freddy vs. Jason was a long-teased concept, but the project took a long time to come together before it was finally released in 2003. Freddy vs. Jason’s lengthy development process led to over a dozen different drafts and many writers taking stabs at the script. The finished product of Freddy vs. Jason isn’t perfect, but contained some satisfying set pieces, and was allowed to get reasonably crazy. However, earlier drafts for Freddy vs. Jason were even more extreme in certain regards, such as one that featured the conclusion of Freddy and Jason’s fight taking place in a morbid boxing ring within the depths of Hell. This was how Ted Bundy came into the plot, as the spectacle was supposed to feature a number of real-life murderers and tyrants within the audience, including an enthusiastic Adolf Hitler. Interestingly, the referee and ringleader for the fight was going to be none other than Bundy.
Both the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th movie franchises have gotten sillier over the years, and Freddy vs. Jason is no exception. In that sense, it’s not hard to picture this fight being included in the movie, but it may have been a joke that didn’t sit well with the audience. Bundy isn’t a supporting character by any means, but his use in the plot is more like a disturbing punchline. It’s hard to say if audiences would find that to be in poor taste; it’s easy to picture protests against this particular scene back in 2003. Furthermore, Freddy vs. Jason almost glorifies Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees’ murders and, in a way, turns them into strange antiheroes. While it's a clear nod at audiences who tend to root for Freddy and Jason, it's a harder perspective to accept when there are real-life murderers mixed in with characters who have already had problems with being idolized. Freddy vs. Jason still includes some tasteless moments, but it’s likely in the movie’s favor that Bundy didn't make it into the shooting script.