With today being Friday the 13th, fans are rewatching their favorite entries in the iconic horror movie franchise to celebrate the day. While some relive the past, others lament the many lost projects that didn’t make it to screens. One recent scrapped project is Bryan Fuller’s Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake. Unfortunately for those already disappointed that the series was abandoned, one horror movie director has made things worse by calling the scripts for the series some of the best he had ever read.
Director Vincenzo Natali, best known for his work on films like The Cell and Splice, took to X/Twitter to share a little tease about Fuller’s Crystal Lake series.. He also said, “The scripts for the first two episodes remain among the best I have ever read for any show.” Natali has collaborated with Fuller before, directing five episodes of Hannibal and one for American Gods, so he was likely approached to direct Crystal Lake and even the pilot for the series. See the original post below.
Jason Goes To Development Hell
News of Bryan Fuller working on Crystal Lake broke in 2022. The series originally started out as a prequel to the original Friday the 13th and was meant to focus on Jason Voorhees’s mother, Pamela Voorhees. Fuller was developing the series with A24 with it set to air on Peacock. However, at various points, the plan for the series seemed to change, with it being suggested that Jason would actually make an appearance in the show as well. Fuller’s complete plan was never revealed, though, as he departed the series in May 2024, reportedly three months before production was set to begin.
Later reports about the development of the series said there were major creative differences behind the scenes between Fuller and A24/Peacock regarding the direction of the series, mainly as Fuller had grand ambitions, including looking to cast Charlize Theron as Pamela Voorhees.
Natali is not the only filmmaker to discuss Fuller’s Crystal Lake and its lost potential. Shortly after Fuller departed the project, Scream franchise writer Kevin Williamson mourned the loss of Fuller’s series, with William writing Fuller on X: “Your pilot was so beautifully realized. It was a gorgeous portrait of a mother unraveling in her grief. Not to mention bloody horrific! I was so looking forward to our hour-long chase episode!”
While Fuller has departed Crystal Lake, that does not mean the series is dead in the water like Jason Voorhees. In August 2024, it was announced that Brad Caleb Kane would be the new showrunner on Crystal Lake. Natali’s comments suggest that Fuller’s scripts have either been tossed out or are drastically being reworked, meaning the series will certainly be different from what was initially planned. While fans eagerly await a new entry in the franchise, as it has been fifteen years since the last entry in the series hit theaters, one likely won’t be able to watch Crystal Lake without wondering what might have been had Fuller been allowed to stay onboard.