Jason Voorhees has never had any problem coming back from the dead, but the same cannot be said about his iconic horror franchise. It's been eight years since the last Friday the 13th film hit theaters, and we've been dying (pun very much intended) to see the Crystal Lake killer's next massacre. Although there's still another year to go until Jason will once again hack and slash his way through some horny camp counselors, we finally know why the movie has taken so long, and it all has to do with a desire to get the story right. Friday the 13th producer, Andrew Form, elaborated:

Jason is a POV movie. So, it was very hard to wrap our head around how you would do a Friday the 13th that was found footage, knowing that we really need the Jason perspective of watching. We didn't want to break the DNA of that. We also battled: do we do a sequel to the original? Do we pick up where we left off with Jared and Amanda at the end of the movie? Somehow, that didn't find a home. So, it's been eight years. It will be eight years since we made the last one. I'm here to say that we found the location. We have found the lake, we have found the camp. We found an amazing script by Aaron Guzikowski. Breck Eisner is directing the movie. That movie is shooting in early Spring.

While speaking with Collider alongside fellow Platinum Dunes producer, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form explained that many of the delays associated with the next Friday the 13th have involved the desire to get the story and overall atmosphere of the movie right. The creative team behind the next installment in the franchise toyed with several ideas as to where this movie will fall within the Friday continuity (including a found footage sequel) before finally landing on a story that satisfied them, as well as a director to bring that story to life in the form of The Crazies' Breck Eisner. Those issues have now been handled, and the film will begin production in spring 2017.

Ultimately it seems that the patience and diligence has paid off. With the upcoming Friday the 13th film, Platinum Dunes has endeavored to develop something that will feel right for series newcomers, as well as long-time, die-hard fans. The film will delve into Jason's backstory, and explore some of his deeper mythology without making him entirely sympathetic -- an important distinction for the producers. The DNA of a Friday the 13th movie will most certainly be apparent, but this is going to be unlike any of the machete-wielding killer's other rampages.

We will bring you any and all relevant information related to Jason Voorhees' next slaughter as more details become available to us. The next Friday the 13th movie will hit theaters on October 13, 2017. And yes, that is a Friday.