Dan Trachtenberg, the director known for his work on horror and action films like 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane, 2022’s Prey, and 2025’s Predator: Badlands, is moving on to something a little more family-friendly, as he will helm Paramount Animation’s upcoming animated comedy horror adaptation of the indie comic Freddy the 13th.
As reported by Deadline, the project comes after Trachtenberg signed a three-year producing and directing first-look deal with Paramount Pictures, with the currently untitled project being based on the 2025 Freddy the 13th comic by Yehudi Mercado. “I’ve spent most of my career making movies that parents probably shouldn’t show their kids,” the director wrote on Instagram alongside a CGI image of the film’s script. “Happy to announce, I’m finally making one…they…can…?”
The comic’s original author, Mercado, is also co-directing the film, with Trachtenberg also producing alongside his long-time co-collaborator Ben Rosenblatt.
The original Freddy the 13th comic follows Freddy Vanwinkle, the thirteenth son of a thirteenth-born son, who seems to fail at everything he does. One night, he accidentally kills the legendary killer Nighty Night and inherits his powers, and when rival killers emerge, Freddy has thirteen nights to break the curse.
The movie, on the other hand, will feature a slightly different premise, with its official logline reading, “a family vacation turns into a nightmare when fun Uncle Freddy accidentally kills the Boogeyman and takes on his powers.” The film is also being pitched as a PG-rated horror flick that delivers “scares and laughs to the whole family”.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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