Bryan Fuller Is Writing 'Friday The 13th' Prequel Series 'Crystal Lake' For Peacock!

The long-dormant "Friday the 13th" franchise is set to make another comeback. Peacock has officially ordered a newly expanded prequel series based on the franchise, titled "Crystal Lake," and it's got some major talent behind it. Bryan Fuller, the creator of "Pushing Daisies" and NBC's "Hannibal" television series, is serving as the writer, showrunner, and executive producer for the project.

Peacock has given "Crystal Lake" a straight-to-series order. The series comes from A24 and will be streamed exclusively on Peacock. Marc Toberoff, Victor Miller, and Rob Barsamian are also attached to executive produce the show.

For now, details on the show are being kept under wraps. Speaking on the news, NBC Universal Television and Streaming Chairman of Entertainment Content, Susan Rovner commented, "Friday the 13th is one of the most iconic horror franchises in movie history and we were dying to revisit this story with our upcoming drama series Crystal Lake." She continued, "We can't wait to get to work with Bryan Fuller, a gifted, visionary creator who I've had the pleasure of being a longtime friend and collaborator, along with our incredible partners at A24, in this updated version for Peacock that will thrill long-standing fans of the franchise."

Meanwhile, Bryan Fuller added: "I discovered Friday the 13th in the pages of Famous Monsters magazine when I was 10 years old and I have been thinking about this story ever since. When it comes to horror, A24 raises the bar and pushes the envelope and I'm thrilled to be exploring the campgrounds of Crystal Lake under their banner. And Susan Rovner is simply the best at what she does. It's a pleasure and an honor to be working with her again."

The horror franchise is best known for its hockey mask-wearing, iconic bogeyman villain, Jason Voorhees. However, fans will recall the 1980 original film did not feature Voorhees as the killer. The hockey mask was not introduced for Jason until "Friday the 13th Part III" in 1982.

Previously, there was a "Friday the 13th" television series that aired in syndication for three seasons from 1987 to 1990. However, the show was completely unrelated to the film franchise.

It should be noted that Miller wrote the script for the 1980 original film and is an executive producer for the new show. Barsamian, who produced the first film, is also an executive producer. As reported by Deadline, there was a legal battle over the original film.

Miller won the rights to the character he created after a copyright termination battle. While producers of the original film, including Barsamian, attempted to legally argue that Miller's involvement was work-for-hire, it was ultimately ruled by a judge in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that this was not the case.

The legal battle now reportedly allows Miller to license the rights for a prequel television series. Since both Miller and Barsamian are attached to the project, it appears a deal was worked out between both projects in order to move forward with the show.

As noted by Deadline, since both parties worked out a deal, this likely means the iconic hockey mask that Jason did not don until the later films could possibly make some sort of appearance in the show.

"Friday the 13th" has basically been dormant as a franchise since the 2009 remake, titled simply "Friday the 13th," which reintroduced Jason Voorhees to the big screen. It was directed by Marcus Nispel.

The film did moderately well, grossing $65 million domestically off of a $19 million budget and $91.5 million worldwide. However, any sequels or follow-ups after the 2009 film never materialized, until now.

Fuller's "Crystal Lake" is currently in the works for Peacock. A launch date has not yet been decided. The show will be available exclusively on the streaming service later on.