We recently heard that New Line was attempting to rush everyone’s favorite sex-hating mass murderer Jason Voorhees back into theaters before the end of the year, and now Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes production company is helping polish the machete for a new Friday the 13th movie.

But before you roll your eyes at the prospect of yet another entry in the undying stalker’s series, here’s the best part: the script for Jason’s latest hilarious exploits comes from Mark Wheaton, better known (around here, anyway) as CHUD’s former west coast correspondent Smilin’ Jack Ruby. Wheaton, who also penned the Pang Brothers’ spooker The Messengers for Sam Raimi’s Ghost House and is working with Oliver Stone on the General Custer story Son of the Morning Star, is a lifelong horror enthusiast who’s more than qualified for the task. That’s right — a Friday the 13th movie written by a fan of the franchise. Way to slay, man!

While early rumors had the masked mangler trading blows with everyone from Halloween’s Michael Myers to Evil Dead’s Ash, the new flick will instead focus on Jason’s origin, sort of a “re-launch” that’ll acknowledge his earlier cinematic foundations but take the mayhem in its own direction. I’m also promised a high body count and some nauseatingly gruesome slaughter.

The studio is trying to use the same release date marketing synergy as Fox’s remake of The Omen arriving on 6.6.06 (y’know, because it’s the devil) by chopping away this October 13th, but I’ve been reminded that Platinum Dunes’ Texas Chainsaw prequel is also supposed to flay just in time for Halloween, so one of them is bound to flinch (and hey, there’s another Friday the 13th on the calendar next April).