As rumors swirled throughout the past few days regarding the status of Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake, former showrunner Bryan Fuller has confirmed he’s no longer with the project in a number of social media posts today.
The show was first announced back in 2022, with Peacock handing Crystal Lake a straight-to-series order and studio A24 on board to produce. Fuller, best known for developing shows like Hannibal, American Gods, and Pushing Daisies, was tapped as writer, showrunner, and executive producer.
“Adapting classic horror is something I have some experience with,” Fuller wrote in his X/Twitter and Instagram posts today. “These shows require a vision that elevates and transforms, as well as delivers what audiences have come to expect, which is an ambitious and risky endeavor. It requires people to take the leap with me.”
“When it works, as with HANNIBAL, the results can be powerful for the storytellers and the audience. I couldn’t be more proud of the work my co-showrunner Jim Danger Gray and I were able to accomplish with our brilliant writing staff despite the challenges we faced,” he continued. “For reasons beyond our control, A24 has elected to go a different way with the material. We hope the final product will be something Friday the 13th fans all over the world will enjoy.”
IGN has confirmed with a source close to the production that Fuller is indeed no longer the writer and showrunner of Crystal Lake, but we’ve also learned that Peacock and A24 are still planning to move forward with the series with a new showrunner. The project has not yet started production.
The status of Crystal Lake was first called into question earlier this week, when reporter Jeff Sneider wrote in his The Insneider newsletter that A24 had “pulled the plug” on the series. A day later, however, Bloody Disgusting reported that Crystal Lake had not gotten the axe, but rather, there was some “retooling” happening behind the scenes.
According to Variety, original Friday the 13th writer Victor Miller remains on board as an executive producer with Marc Toberoff and Rob Barsamian. Plot details have been kept under wraps.
IGN has reached out to reps for Fuller and Gray, as well as A24 and Peacock, for further comment.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
