As much as the character of Jason Voorhees is synonymous with the “Friday the 13th“ film series, true fans (and people who remember the opening sequence to “Scream”) will note he’s not the original killer. Memorably, the first film in the franchise reveals the murderer of the teenage camp counselors was actually Jason’s mother, Pamela Voorhees. Originally portrayed by Betsy Palmer, her character may have been eclipsed by her son in the franchise, but there’s no denying the intensity of Palmer’s performance.
When a prequel series, “Camp Crystal Lake” was announced, the obvious question would be, who would take up the mantle of Ms. Voorhees? Now we know. You may remember her from “Freaks & Geeks,” “ER,” “Dead to Me,” or as Wendy in “Gravity Falls.” She’s also unmasked monstrous villains as Velma in the “Scooby-Doo “live-action movies- it’s Linda Cardellini!
She’ll be the one potentially wreaking havoc on the shiftless teens who let her son drown in the icy waters of Crystal Lake. We actually don’t know much about the plot of the upcoming horror series except for it being a prequel. Could it lead up to the events of the first movie? Your guess is as good as ours.
This “Friday the 13th” prequel series has had a fairly long gestational period of development. Originally, Bryan Fuller (“Pushing Daisies,” “Hannibal“) was attached. Since then, Fuller has left the project, and it’s being helmed by Brad Caleb Kane who incidentally is working on a prequel series to “It” for MAX.
“I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to contribute a chapter to this iconic franchise, particularly with such fearless partners as Peacock and A24,” Kane said. Frankly, given all the legal fights to the rights of the franchise that have gone on, it’s kind of lucky we’re getting an addition to the franchise in general.
As for Cardellini, she’s kept herself busy in recent years. She played Hawkeye’s wife Laura Barton in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and “Hawkeye” series. She’s also done a lot of voice acting including everything from “The Regular Show” and most recently a vocal appearance in “Creature Commandos.” Despite all that though, it’s kind of hard not to think about the fact that Velma is now Mrs. Voorhees. Who would’ve guessed?
