‘Friday the 13th’ reboot confirmed for January 2017 release; Director exits, talks ‘Dazed and Confused’-inspired version

By Staff Writer | Mar 14, 2016 11:19 AM EDT

'Friday the 13th' is a planned reboot of the popular slasher film series that followed the story of murderer Jason Voorhees. David Bruckner, who was supposed to helm the film, has exited the project. He revealed that his version could have been a 'Dazed and Confused'-inspired film.

According to The Wrap, the upcoming reboot of the highly-popular slasher film franchise from the 1980s will not be helmed by director David Bruckner. The filmmaker has reportedly exited the project for Paramount and Platinum Dunes after numerous delays. The reason for his departure has not been announced.

Bruckner is best known for his work on a small selection of films including 'The Signal', where he won the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award alongside co-directors and co-writers Jacob Gentry and Dan Bush. His also worked on 'Southbound', an anthology of horror and science-fiction films that had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

According to Flickering Myth, Bruckner was attached to Paramount's project for over a year. He revealed what his version of the reboot would have been like if they pushed through with it.

He said, "It was a proper reboot... The final version that we were working on was with a writer Nick Antosca, who writes for Hannibal, or did, rather. It was a proper 'end of the summer' summer camp movie that took place in the late '80s...I like to say that Dazed and the Confused was a huge inspiration to me in how we approached the character relationships, just because that's a movie that captures a kind of a timeless - even though it takes place in the '70s - a very timeless, nostalgic experience."

According to another article by Bloody Disgusting, Bruckner explained that he had "very specific" ideas when Paramount first approached him for the planned remake that attempted to utilize the concept of found footage.

He said, "I felt it needed to be single-camera. I didn't think you could bring a whole bunch of media into the room, and that we had to do a kind of classic found-footage movie... There are certain restrictions to found-footage; That was a really fun obstacle to tackle, and we ended up structuring it a little bit more like a monster movie."

The last film created was released back in 2009 under director Marcus Nispel. It was also an attempted reboot of the film series, which was first intended as Jason Voorhees' origin story but ended up as a reimagining of the original 'Friday the 13th' films. Upon its release in February 13, 2009, it received negative reviews from critics but became a box office success earning over $91 million worldwide against a $19 million budget.

'Friday the 13th' is a planned reboot of the popular slasher film franchise from the 1980s. It is scheduled to be released on January 13, 2017.

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