Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday mask while digging in the dirt. Freddy Krueger's gloved hand bursts out of the dirt and pulls Jason's mask into the ground. John D. LeMay is one of only two actors from the TV series to appear in the film series; the other is John Shepherd, who played Tommy Jarvis in "". Producer Sean S. Cunningham originally conceived an action-horror film in which Jason Voorhees would battle Freddy Krueger of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. Paramount Pictures, who had released the previous eight "Friday the 13th" films, negotiated with New Line Cinema over the rights to the series,
Jason Voorhees ending, as he was available for the reshoot and had been the production's second choice to portray the role of Jason during the original casting. For the 2009 remake, stuntman Derek Mears was hired to portray Jason Voorhees at the recommendation of makeup special effects supervisor Scott Stoddard. Mears's pleasant demeanor had the studio worried about his ability to portray such a menacing character on screen, but Mears assured them he would be able to perform the role. When Mears auditioned for the role he was asked why they should hire an actor over just another guy in a mask.