There hasn't been a Friday the 13th film since 2009, and one big reason for Jason's continued absence is a lawsuit concerning rights to the franchise. The 1980s were a golden age for slasher movies, and one of the poster boys of this movement was Jason Voorhees, who took over the family business of killing teens at Camp Crystal Lake from his mother Pamela after she lost her head. There was a new Friday the 13th film in all but two years of the decade, with only 1983 and 1987 going without a Voorhees murder spree to call their own.
By contrast, Jason sat out most of the 1990s, although he did star in three films during the 2000s. Ever since 2009's underrated Friday the 13th remake though, both the franchise and its leading man have entered hibernation, first because nobody could seem to decide on the right script for a new entry. This struck many fans as laughable, as it's not like Friday the 13th movies really require a complex story to be satisfying.
In more recent years though, Jason's inevitable return has been stalled by an ongoing legal dispute between Friday the 13th's producer and director Sean S. Cunningham and the film's writer Victor Miller. Until it's resolved, more Jason movies are unlikely to materialize.
In 2017, publisher Gun Media released the widely acclaimed Friday the 13th: The Game for home consoles. By summer 2018 though, the company had to announce a halt to any further additional content for the game, much to the chagrin of fans. This is how most Jason devotees learned of the ongoing legal battle between Sean S. Cunningham and Victor Miller over the rights to the franchise. A quirk of U.S. copyright law allows the original author of a written work the right to revoke a copyright agreement 35 years after it was originally granted.
Victor Miller attempted to do this, and therefore reclaim the rights to Friday the 13th and its surrounding property from Cunnigham's Horror Inc., who formerly controlled the franchise. Cunningham, meanwhile, has argued that Miller's script was a work for hire, and thus according to applicable laws, the work and its intellectual property belongs to Miller's employer, and should thus remain with Horror Inc. This had led to a protracted court case, with Miller at one point winning, but Cunningham trying to overturn the judgment on appeal. This appeal hit some bumps, but the next hearing is scheduled to be held on February 10, 2020. It's possible the case could be decided for good by summer 2020, allowing whoever wins to resume producing Friday the 13th content. For now, fans can just wait and hope.
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