As fans await more news about the future of the Friday the 13th franchise and its evolution into the Jason Universe, others are still expressing their disdain for Jason Voorhees’ new look. The Jason Universe doesn’t feature an entirely new version of the slasher icon, but a few changes have been pretty obvious from the start, and tweaks made to the now-famous hockey mask are among the most controversial. Greg Nicotero, the makeup effects master known for his work on horror franchises like The Walking Dead, Halloween, and Creepshow, was involved in the redesign, and he’s been admittedly surprised by the negative reaction.
Nicotero was recently a guest on the YouTube show Born2BeRad, where he spoke about his body of work, including his recent contribution to the Jason Universe. The host said he didn’t know what the Jason Voorhees rebranding and relaunch actually means in terms of the franchise, to which Nicotero jokingly replied, “I don’t even think they know.” The makeup specialist then elaborated on how he came to be involved in the “design” of the mask:
“A friend of mine owns a company, he did a bunch of merchandising for Creepshow and Walking Dead, and I’ve known the guy for a long time, and he goes, ‘Hey, these people are looking for somebody to make a mask.’ So when (Jason Universe) came to us, they came to me with a design already, and they’re like, ‘This is what we want it to look like,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, it’s kind of interesting, the shape of the eyes and this and that.’ So we did a physical version of it, and it took months to play with the shape… We actually sculpted a Jason bust that nobody’s seen because they wanted us to create a look, which I think is really great.
“In terms of the mask, I’m a little surprised that people are so polarized by it. Because I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the design. I think it’s kind of interesting, and it still feels part of the DNA, but it’s a little stylized in terms of the shape of the eyes and the shape of the face. But you know what? You’re never going to win with the fans of any genre because the minute that you change it just a little bit, people will react.”
The Jason in the ‘Jason Universe’ Isn’t the Best – But At Least It’s Something
It’s safe to say that the mask is only one of several things that looked a bit off when the Jason Universe was unveiled. In an era where AI is synonymous with cinematic sin, the most important recent launch in the horror genre was made with an image that doesn’t look great. It looks digitally altered; lifeless. Not our ideal first glimpse of Jason in more than a decade, but as promised by Horror Inc., it’s the beginning of a whole new universe, and it’s all we have at the moment.
Nicotero’s involvement is limited. He’s definitely not as responsible as many thought, and with his comments, he seems to be taking a bit of distance from this new endeavor that probably aims to send the Friday the 13th franchise to the background. He also offered a pretty good explanation for why Jason is going through some modifications:
“It’s very possible that they made changes on the mask so that they could copyright it, so that they could own it, because it’s not just a typical hockey mask. I wouldn’t doubt that.”