Friday the 13th's screenwriter, Victor Miller, isn't a fan of the franchise sequels that feature Jason Voorhees as the killer, and he has an understandable reason as to why. Miller, who also served as the co-creator of the 1980 camp-centric slasher, only worked on the initial movie in the franchise. Still, he's responsible for developing characters like Alice Hardy, Pamela Voorhees, and of course, Jason. The latter became the face of the Friday the 13th franchise, appearing as the hockey mask-wearing madman for most of the continued franchise, including nine sequels, a crossover with Freddy Krueger in Freddy vs. Jason, and a 2009 reboot. This probably wouldn't have occurred if Miller was involved in the franchise beyond the original movie.
When Miller was first hired to write the Friday the 13th script in the late '80s, he titled the project A Long Night at Camp Blood. The script went through a few redrafts, and at one point, director Sean S. Cunningham decided on using Friday the 13th as the official title. Despite reworkings, Miller kept his twist intact, featuring Jason's mother, Pamela Voorhees, as the figure behind the Camp Crystal Lake killings. The screenwriter felt motherhood and revenge motivated by the death of her young son at the hand of counselors was a meaningful story to tell. In fact, Miller never included an appearance by Jason at the end of the movie; that sequence was a late addition that ultimately propelled the direction of the sequels.
Though Friday the 13th was considered low-budget, it made a splash at the box office, which resulted in the first sequel, Friday the 13th Part 2, debuting less than a year after the original movie. Paramount Pictures began churning out new sequels from directors other than Cunningham, though he re-emerged as a producer for the ninth installment. Miller, however, didn't return in any capacity even though he was integral in creating the foundation of Friday the 13th. His departure stemmed from his displeasure regarding the Friday the 13th sequels' direction in making Jason the killer. When asked about the sequel movies, Miller had this to say on the FAQ section on his official website:
"To be honest, I have not seen any of the sequels, but I have a major problem with all of them because they made Jason the villain. I still believe that the best part of my screenplay was the fact that a mother figure was the serial killer---working from a horribly twisted desire to avenge the senseless death of her son, Jason. Jason was dead from the very beginning. He was a victim, not a villain. But I took motherhood and turned it on its head and I think that was great fun. Mrs. Vorhees was the mother I'd always wanted---a mother who would have killed for her kids."
Considering Miller set out to develop a story about Pamela's drive to kill due to the loss of her son, it makes perfect sense why the writer would feel some hatred toward the subsequent Friday the 13th movies. He has been outspoken at the fact that Jason was never intended to be the villain. Instead, the character was developed solely as an innocent victim who drowned at Camp Crystal Lake due to negligence. Rather than follow Miller's vision, Jason was turned into a killing machine, executing everyone who came in his way through any means necessary. In doing so, it retconned the sympathy surrounding Jason first established in the original Friday the 13th movie.
Had Miller returned for any of the early Friday the 13th sequels, the story would have likely kept Jason out of the spotlight. By saying the sequels missed the entire point of the script, he never would have been on board with making Jason the primary antagonist in his future scripts. It's unclear what sequels would have looked like if Miller was still involved, but it's safe to say Jason wouldn't have become the horror icon he is today.
Following the release of Friday the 13th in 1980, Miller reunited with Cunningham for another horror movie, 1982's A Stranger Is Watching. Miller then moved to soap operas, becoming a writer on hits like All My Children, General Hospital, and One Live To Live. Interestingly, the screenwriter is still connected to the Friday the 13th franchise, but not for a good reason. For years, Cunningham and Miller have been involved in a legal battle centered on who owns the rights to the series, including the streamline of profits. The judge initially sided with Miller, but Cunningham appealed in 2018 before pandemic delays slowed down any new rulings. Cunningham has also sued Paramount and Warner Bros. regarding franchise profits. The active lawsuits and legal battles have since put any work regarding potential Friday the 13th sequels in limbo. Though the Friday the 13th franchise didn't turn out the way he wanted, Miller is still fighting for his creation.