This would have been every slasher fan’s dream.
[dropcap size=small]W[dropcap]hen Freddy vs. Jason was released nearly everyone who saw the film expected a sequel to take place. After all, the entire film itself basically laid the grown work for the beginning of a slasher/horror-universe. New Line Cinema had already begun taking steps towards researching new characters to add to the film. At first Halloween‘s Michael Myers and Hellraiser‘s Pinhead seemed like the obvious choice.
But after much thought, New Line Cinema’s President and COO Toby Emmerich, as well as Creative Executive Jeff Katz and Senior Vice President Stokely Chaffin set their sites on Bruce Campbell’s Ash. Who could possibly be better than Ashley J. Williams going toe to toe with Freddy and Jason? Unfortunately, the trio would never see the screen together due to the major success of Sam Raimi’s The Grudge reboot back in 2004. Interestingly enough, an item from the past has surfaced thanks to New Line Cinema’s Jeff Katz.
The memo, which can be viewed here, titled ‘ROUND TWO: FREDDY VS. JASON – Why Ash Works‘ was found by Katz and in addition to outlining why Ash is the perfect choice, reveals actor Robert Englund had been growing tired of the Freddy Krueger makeup as early as 2003 and how “Per our conversations with him [Englund] in the past, he agrees that the fans will embrace and accept the idea of Ash killing off our burned villain for good, as opposed to their reaction should a 16-year-old virgin girl do the job (again).”
With this memo surfacing so many years later it just might be what New Line Cinema executives need to push them in the direction of a Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash film. After all, aren’t there now three to four cinematic universes in Hollywood now?
