LeBron James to Produce Friday the 13th Reboot

With the success of the new Halloween it was inevitable that every studio would see fit to resurrect their slasher icons. Next on the list? Jason. And who will attempt to take a stab at the machete wielding psycho? Why, none other than NBA icon LeBron James.

First reported by Bloody Disgusting, and since confirmed by THR, James’ SpringHill Entertainment and Vertigo Entertainment, the company that produced Stephen King’s It, are in talks to team up on “a new iteration telling of the gory happenings at Camp Crystal Lake.”

One very important distinction that could cause problems for this new film was the recent legal decision that original Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller regained the rights to his screenplay a month ago. After a long decision process, which lasted for almost a year, Miller successfully retained all the elements to his original screenplay save for one scene involving a motorcycle police officer. There was also some legal hiccups involving the ownership of Jason Vorhees, the masked psychopath who appeared in the sequels, but was absent from the original film.

In any event, Miller will control the rights in the U.S., while the producers of the series and Warner Bros. control certain international territories.

As of now, James’ Friday the 13th reboot is still in the early stages of development with no writer or director attached. This is the third high profile project The King has on his movie-making to-do list, with the other being a sequel to Space Jam, and the other being a remake of House Party.

The Friday the 13th franchise currently consists of the ten original films, the 2003 crossover Freddy vs. Jason, and, most recently, the 2009 reboot.  You can view photos from that film in the gallery below.