Paramount has handed its upcoming Freddy the 13th adaptation a release date that writes its own headline. The studio will unleash the untitled animated feature on a Friday the 13th that aligns perfectly with the project’s spooky-comic roots.
Paramount sets 2028 release date for Dan Trachtenberg’s animated Freddy the 13th
Dan Trachtenberg’s Freddy the 13th will be released on October 13, 2028. It’s a date that happens to fall on a Friday. The film adapts Yehudi Mercado’s indie comic and follows Uncle Freddy, whose well-meaning family trip derails spectacularly when he accidentally kills the Boogeyman. Absorbing the creature’s powers, Freddy plunges his relatives into a world where wholesome scares collide with genuine laughs. Paramount Animation calls it a PG-rated ride built to entertain parents and children alike (via Deadline).
Trachtenberg, fresh off Predator: Badlands and Prey, directs the feature and brings diverse genre credentials to the table. His earlier animated work includes Predator: Killer of Killers, which became the franchise’s first foray into animation on Hulu. He also signed a three-year first-look deal with Paramount Pictures earlier this year, leading to a partnership that now spans live-action and animation. Longtime collaborator Ben Rosenblatt produces alongside Trachtenberg. The pair previously worked together on multiple projects.
When Paramount revealed the project last month at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Mercado took to Instagram to share his joy. “I’m incredibly excited to have found a team crazy enough to want to make an animated horror-comedy for the whole family,” he posted. “Most of all, I’m grateful I never gave up on my dreams. Thanks, Paramount Animation! Let’s get spooky!”
The 2028 date gives the production ample room to craft a film that honours Mercado’s offbeat vision. Paramount’s decision to plant the release on a Friday the 13th reveals a studio playing to its material’s strengths, embracing the calendar as a marketing tool rather than ignoring it. For families hunting a gateway into gentle horror, October just got a little more interesting.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on SuperHeroHype.
