What Happened To Friday The 13th 2017?

The 2017 Friday the 13th film was fully developed, had a completed shooting script by Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners), was set to be directed by Breck Eisner, and was scheduled to begin filming in early 2017 in Georgia. It was going to be a period piece set in the late 1970s/early 1980s with a stronger focus on practical effects and a more grounded tone.

However, the project was abruptly canceled by Paramount Pictures in February 2017, just weeks before production was supposed to start. Paramount had gained the rights back to distribute a new Friday The 13th film within a five-year window when they made a 2013 deal with Warner Bros. to allow the studio to co-finance Christopher Nolan's Interstellar film. Main reasons for the cancellation:

1. Poor performance of Rings (2017)
   Paramount released the Ring horror sequel Rings in early February 2017, and it only made $13 million on its opening weekend (overall $83 million worldwide on a $25 million budget and was lauded by critics). This scared the studio away from mid-budget horror projects in general.
2. Ongoing rights dispute between Victor Miller and Sean Cunningham
   Even though the lawsuit hadn’t fully exploded yet in early 2017, the legal clouds were already gathering in the franchise rights battle. Victor Miller (the original screenwriter) was preparing to reclaim domestic rights under U.S. copyright termination laws, while producer/director Sean Cunningham (through Horror Inc.) claimed he owned the franchise. Paramount apparently decided it didn’t want to sink $15–20 million into a movie whose ownership could be tied up in court for years.
3. Studio pivot away from the project
   After canceling it, Paramount instead moved forward with expanding the shared universe idea that became A Quiet Place (which was a massive success in 2018). Essentially, the slot and some of the budget that had been earmarked for Friday the 13th got redirected.

This was the closest to a new Friday The 13th project that fans had experienced until the new Crystal Lake prequel series was announced and just wrapped production on season one back in October. Hopefully very soon in the near future we will see a new film in theaters once again.