Paramount Animation has announced an untitled animated comedy-horror based on the graphic novel Freddy the 13th by Yehudi Mercado, with Dan Trachtenberg set to direct the project. It is a sharp turn in tone, though not necessarily in instinct.
The announcement comes four months after the 10 Cloverfield Lane and Predator: Badlands director signed a three-year producing and directing first-look deal with Paramount Animation's parent company, Paramount Pictures. Mercado will co-direct, with Trachtenberg and Ben Rosenblatt set to produce.
Released in late 2025, the source graphic novel follows the hapless Freddy Vanwinkle, the thirteenth son of a thirteenth-born son who fails at everything compared to his brilliant siblings, until one night, while babysitting his nephew and niece, he accidentally kills the legendary slasher Nighty Night and inherits the monster's mantle. With rival killers crawling out of the shadows to seize the throne, Freddy must drive cross-country to break the curse, protect his family, and prove he's finally good at something, even if it's being evil.
Paramount says the project will infuse elements of the horror genre into children's animation for "wholesome PG-rated scares and laughs to the whole family." Trachtenberg addressed the shift himself on Instagram, writing: "I've spent most of my career making movies that parents probably shouldn't show their kids. I'm finally making one…they…can…?"
It's a rare self-aware pivot from a filmmaker who built his reputation on intensity. Trachtenberg's run with the Predator franchise began with Prey, set 300 years before John McTiernan's original on Comanche Nation territory, which earned him two Emmy nominations for outstanding directing and outstanding writing for a limited series or anthology movie. He then directed the adult animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers, which hit Hulu last year and told stories of various Yautja throughout the galaxy. His live-action follow-up Predator: Badlands became the highest-grossing entry in the franchise's 38-year history, earning $184.5 million worldwide and surpassing the previous record holder, 2004's Alien vs. Predator at $177.4 million.
That track record is precisely why Paramount locked him in. The deal marks a return to the Melrose lot for Trachtenberg, who first made his feature debut with 2016's 10 Cloverfield Lane for the studio. In a statement at the time of that deal, Trachtenberg said: "As a kid I remember seeing the Paramount logo and dreaming of the epic adventure that would follow. Now to have the opportunity to bring new huge and emotional stories to giant screens is literally a dream come true."
The studio unveiled Freddy the 13th at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, currently underway in France. The project joins a growing slate under new Paramount Animation chief Jennifer Dodge, which includes an animal-filled spin on the CBS reality series Survivor and a Christmas adventure, The Naughty List, from director Robert Rodriguez.
No release date has been announced for Freddy the 13th at this time.
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