Friday the 13th‘s latest entry quietly has the perfect set-up for a new Jason Vorhees sequel, 16 years after the last one hit theaters. Despite being one of the most iconic horror movie villains of all time, Jason Vorhees has actually been absent from the big screen for over a decade.

While the character lives on other media like video games and an upcoming TV show, Jason hasn’t had a genuine sequel in some time. That’s partly what makes Sweet Revenge such a fascinating development for the franchise.

A stand-alone short film that effectively serves as a Friday the 13th movie in a quarter of the regular run-time, Sweet Revenge is a fun throwback to an earlier generation of slasher movies. However, the short takes a surprising turn in the second half, twisting the conventional “Final Girl” into something completely different.

It’s a clever idea that could build up the lore of Friday the 13th in some clever ways, even laying the groundwork for a prospective legacy sequel focused for the series.

Sweet Revenge Teases The True Power Of Crystal Lake

Sweet Revenge sets up an interesting addition to the lore of Friday the 13th, with the fate of the short film’s “final girl” potentially setting her up as an heir to Jason Vorhees. “Sweet Revenge” is an extended advertisement for Angry Orchard, the hard cider brand, that infuses some of their products and imagery into a shortened Jason story.

The short plays with many of the conventions of Friday the 13th, including a group of young adults venturing to Crystal Lake and finding themselves on the receiving end of Jason’s gory wraith. However, the short’s central character Eve ends up being an intriguing subversion of the Final Girl archetype when she becomes a killer like Jason.

After being dragged into Crystal Lake and left for ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, Eve resurfaces and struggles to find her friends. She’s mortally injured by Jason, but unfazed by her wounds. She becomes silent and grim, especially after discovering her best friend and fiancée kissing. When she and her best friend escape, Eve kills her and then walks off any injuries related to a car crash.

The implication is that Eve has been transformed by Crystal Lake in a similar manner to Jason. The short even ends with Eve staring down Jason, both of them grasping bladed weapons and moving with a calm, cold edge. It’s an intriguing concept, as it suggests that whatever supernatural element revived Jason into his current form could do it again to someone else.

Friday The 13th’s Spin-Off Sets Up A New Jason

By giving Eve the Jason treatment, Sweet Revenge introduces a unique quality to Crystal Lake without overexplaining it. By having Eve seemingly come back after being drowned in the lake, Sweet Revenge suggests that there is an inherent power to the lake that can transform someone into a remorseless and unfeeling killer.

Sweet Revenge could be used as a springboard for new stories, focusing on Eve as she follows her own path to become a killer like Jason. It could pair her up with Jason, have her strike out on her own, or even become a target of Jason Vorhees if he doesn’t want to share whatever supernatural force had made him unstoppable.

Eve could even be killed off after her off-screen confrontation with Jason. However, the idea that Crystal Lake is directly connected to whatever made Jason unstoppable and is the source of that power immediately raises questions about how other people like Jason could be transformed into a similar state.

Sweet Revenge Proves How Friday The 13th Could Do A Legacy Sequel

Friday the 13th has toyed with the concept of turning Jason into a legacy role in the past. Tommy Jarvis was set up in Friday the 13th Part V to become a new serial killer in his stead, only for Jason to return to his lead role in the franchise. The series has never successfully nailed that transition, however.

However, Sweet Revenge has a pretty clever idea for how to create a successor to Jason, all without actually getting rid of Jason. Having Crystal Lake be the source of whatever element is capable of turning people into revenant killers like Jason or Eve could make it a uniquely haunted or cursed setting, giving other characters reason to visit the lake to try and replicate that power.

Introducing someone like Eve, who was accidentally caught up in Jason’s rampage and seemingly transformed by the experience, could easily set up a new killer to carry the franchise forward in directions that Jason might not be as accustomed to. It could easily generate spin-offs with new characters and tones.

A legacy sequel to Friday the 13th that took cues from Sweet Revenge could even lean into the idea of Jason finding a new rival — or friend — who can take just as much punishment as him. It could make for a compelling challenge for the masked immortal killer, giving him someone Jason simply can’t chop down.

Sweet Revenge has a fun expansion of the Friday the 13th lore baked into its premise, transforming from a love letter to the franchise into a potentially exciting new direction for the series. Even if the next Friday the 13th film or expansion doesn’t continue Sweet Revenge‘s story, it could be a great breeding ground for new directions to take the series.