Friday the 13th set for reboot

AFTER Halloween scared up a phenomenal US$77.5 million (RM322.5 million) over its opening weekend, horror franchise Friday the 13th ( right) is getting the reboot treatment 10 years after its last release in 2009, with a production company owned by star basketballer LeBron James said to be circling the project.

Vertigo Entertainment and SpringHill Entertainment – the latter set up by James – are in discussions over an acquisition of the Friday the 13th saga, according to a report from American horror genre website Bloody Disgusting.

The franchise can trace its history back to the original 1980 Friday the 13th movie about summer camp counsellors being tracked by a serial killer.

It was not until the third of 12 existing franchise entries, Friday the 13th Part III, that the killer’s iconic hockey mask motif was added.

Friday the 13th was released in 2009 but, despite an enviable first-weekend performance, did not generate any sequels of its own.

Original screenwriter Victor Miller obtained the rights to the franchise in September after a successful lawsuit.

Since 2008, James has racked up producers’ credits on over 20 TV series and documentaries.

Friday the 13th would be his second feature film credit as a producer, following sci-fi sports comedy adventure Space Jam 2 in which he has a co-starring role.

The basketball star and philanthropist is known as a fan of the Friday the 13th franchise. – AFP-Relaxnews