Jason Voorhees is emerging from Crystal Lake.
The upcoming Crystal Lake is a Peacock television series produced by A24 that serves as a prequel to the Friday the 13th franchise. It will focus on the character of Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini), who was the killer in the original 1980 slasher movie before her son Jason Voorhees took up the mantle in the first sequel and beyond. The cast of the series also includes William Catlett, Devin Kessler, and Cameron Scoggins as Dorf (a police officer who also appears in the original movie). Young Jason will also appear in a recurring role as played by Chucky’s Callum Vinson.
Crystal Lake creator and showrunner Brad Caleb Kane shared a first-look at the new version of the iconic character in a since-deleted Instagram post. The original post, which teased a potential trailer drop the following week by saying, “News coming. Monday… We’re all doomed.” featured a black and white image of the back of Jason’s head while the actor was sitting in a make-up chair. See the full-size image below:
The back of Jason Voorhees’ head in the makeup chair behind the scenes on Crystal Lake
Because the post was deleted, it is unclear if there is still a plan in place for news to drop on Monday, May 11. However, should there be an official announcement of some kind, it seems possible that Peacock will drop the official trailer for the series, which is expected to debut sometime before the end of 2026, becoming the first non-short film installment in the Friday the 13th franchise in 17 years.
Ultimately, it is unclear exactly what role Jason will play in Crystal Lake. In addition to the fact that plot details for the series have been kept tightly under wraps, the canon of Jason Voorhees is often contradictory in the original Friday the 13th movies.
These contradictions began cropping up almost immediately. Although Pamela Voorhees’ murder spree in the original Friday the 13th happened because she was seeking revenge for the fact that her son drowned because of neglectful camp counselors, 1981’s Friday the 13th Part 2 presented Jason as a full-grown, living adult seeking revenge for the death of his mother, having apparently survived his drowning and lived in the woods in the ensuing years without ever encountering her during that time.
The canon is relatively consistent over the next few movies, when Jason goes from a living man to an undead being after being killed and struck by lightning. However, the ninth installment, Jason Goes to Hell, introduced the idea of Jason being a demonic worm with the ability to possess people’s bodies, which is an idea that was ignored in subsequent installments.
However, from this glimpse at the Jason makeup they will be using in the series, it does look like the Crystal Lake team is making an effort to keep the character relatively consistent with the way he looked when he was played as a young boy by Ari Lehman in the original 1980 movie.
This could mean that Crystal Lake will be fully adhering to the canon of 1980’s Friday the 13th, in which case Jason may drown in the titular body of water at some point during the series. It’s highly likely that details like this will become more clear once the trailer arrives, offering more insight into the shape of the season and the exact timeline during which it takes place.
Network
Peacock
Showrunner
Brad Caleb Kane
Writers
Brad Caleb Kane
Linda Cardellini
Pamela Voorhees
