Could Jason Voorhees be headed into an anthology that puts the Friday the 13th killer into wildly different scenarios? Kevin Smith has just provided some intriguing information about a project that, if it actually comes together, could include an unexpected crossover: Jay and Silent Bob meeting Jason Voorhees.
During the latest episode of the Jay & Silent Bob Are in the Hizzouse podcast, Smith and Jason Mewes were discussing the history of proposed Jay and Silent Bob projects when Smith suddenly remembered an idea that had been pitched to him by The Goldbergs sitcom creator Adam F. Goldberg. Smith said that, around a year ago, Goldberg was working on a Friday the 13th anthology in which Jason Voorhees would be placed into “various scenarios.” At one point, Goldberg asked Smith if he would be interested in making Jay and Silent Bob Meet Jason Voorhees.
Smith’s response?
“In a heartbeat, Adam, of course.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean a Friday the 13th anthology is currently in the works. Smith said Goldberg was developing or working on the concept, but there has never been an official announcement. Still, the story is notable because it reveals that an anthology approach to Friday the 13th was apparently being considered by Goldberg, and that Jay and Silent Bob almost became part of it. And Smith’s enthusiasm for the idea has an interesting history.
Smith had previously been presented with the possibility of putting Jay and Silent Bob into other horror franchises. After Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dimension Films chairman Bob Weinstein wanted Smith to take the characters and drop them into something resembling an Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein-style horror comedy where they could cross paths with Dimension’s various horror properties. At the time, Dimension had franchises including Hellraiser, Halloween, and Children of the Corn. Weinstein suggested a movie in which Jay and Silent Bob would encounter some of the studio’s modern-day horror icons.
Smith said his favorite possibility was Jay and Silent Bob Meet Pinhead. Smith even came up with an idea for the crossover: Jay and Bob would find the Lament Configuration and discover that their version of Hell involved being sent to rehab. Smith thought the idea was funny, but ultimately couldn’t “get his head around” actually making the movie.
When he told his friend Ben Affleck about the idea, Affleck initially laughed. Then he thought about it for a moment and predicted that the movie would make $100 million. It never happened. The closest Jay and Silent Bob came to crossing paths with one of Dimension’s horror franchises was their cameo in Scream 3.
That’s what makes Smith’s reaction to Goldberg’s Friday the 13th proposal amusing. Looking back on the Pinhead idea, Smith said he had thought, “Jay and Silent Bob and Pinhead? You’re out of your mind. That would never work.”
But years later, when Goldberg approached him about Jay and Silent Bob meeting Jason Voorhees, he immediately saw the potential.
“Instantly, I was like, ‘F*ck yes.’”
Rather than building an entire Friday the 13th movie around Jay and Silent Bob, Goldberg’s anthology format could have allowed Jason to appear in a succession of unusual situations, with each installment functioning as its own story. Whether that anthology is still being developed and what medium it would have been for (live-action shorts? a comic book?) remains unclear.
For now, the biggest takeaway is that Adam F. Goldberg apparently had a Friday the 13th anthology concept in the works at one point and Kevin Smith was enthusiastic about letting Jason Voorhees enter the View Askewniverse.
While we wait to see if Adam F. Goldberg ever actually does make a Friday the 13th anthology, and if Jay and Silent Bob will be involved, Friday the 13th fans have the Peacock series Crystal Lake to look forward to, Goldberg is co-writing a comic book tie-in to Halloween: The Game, and Jay and Silent Bob recently met Marvel superheroes in the pages of the comic book Jays of Future Past.
Would you like to see a Friday the 13th anthology from Adam F. Goldberg, and should Jay and Silent Bob be involved? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.