Director Adam Wingard confirms in a Reddit AMA that he hid an Easter egg referencing Jason X in his MonsterVerse crossover Godzilla vs. Kong. The fourth film in Legendary's kaiju-centric franchise saw the King of the Monsters and the King of Skull Island go to battle with one another for unknown reasons while a secret conspiracy at Monarch threatens the entire world. In addition to a slew of newcomers including Julian Dennison, Brian Tyree Henry, Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, and Demián Bichir, the cast saw the return of franchise stars Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler.
Jason X arrived in theaters in 2001 as the tenth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise, following what was originally the concluding chapter with 1993's Jason Goes to Hell. As many struggling horror franchises did, the story saw the titular Camp Crystal Lake slasher head up to space to unleash his havoc in a future setting and the result was a lashing from critics and a mild cult following from fans in the years since. Twenty years since its release, it appears a new fan of the sci-fi slasher film has emerged.
While discussing the film with fans on Reddit, Wingard revealed the Jason X Easter egg he hid in the MonsterVerse crossover. Expressing surprise that no eagle-eyed fan had picked up on the reference yet, the director explained his homage to Jason X. See what Wingard had to say below:
It's interesting to see that of all the potential reference points across cinema, Wingard elected to pull from Jason X as inspiration for the fight scene between Kong and the warbat in GVK. Especially given the fact that the 2001 iteration of the moment was essentially a more cartoonish take on the similar moment from Friday the 13th Part VII in which Jason swings camper Judy at a tree while wrapped in her sleeping bag, killing her instantaneously. The original scene had Jason actor Kane Hodder swing multiple times, though the director elected to cut it to one to amplify Jason's power.
Aside from the MonsterVerse's debut installment, Godzilla, the franchise has never taken itself too seriously, with John C. Reilly in Kong Skull Island and Thomas Middleditch in Godzilla: King of the Monsters providing some much-needed levity. With that shift in tone, it does seem more understandable that Wingard would decide to use the Jason X sleeping bag kill as inspiration for Godzilla vs. Kong over Friday the 13th Part VII's. With reports of Wingard being in talks for more MonsterVerse outings, it will be curious to see what horror franchise he pulls from next as inspiration.
Source: Adam Wingard