Paramount taps Dan Trachtenberg to direct animated ‘Freddy the 13th’ adaptation announced at Annecy

Paramount has attached director Dan Trachtenberg to an upcoming animated movie adaptation of Freddy the 13th, according to a report published June 22 by The Hollywood Reporter.

The project was announced out of Annecy, where it was introduced as a Paramount production. The report identifies Trachtenberg as the director, building on his prior work that includes directing Predator: Badlands.

The new animated feature is described as being based on a graphic novel by Yehudi Mercado. The report characterizes the source material as centered on a family vacation that turns into trouble.

In its description of the property, The Hollywood Reporter said the story premise involves a vacation that goes awry, aligning the adaptation with the creative framework established in Mercado’s comic.

While details beyond the attachment and the basis in Mercado’s graphic novel were not included in the report excerpt, the announcement positions the project within Paramount’s broader development slate of animated films.

The report’s timing places the Freddy the 13th animated adaptation’s public launch at an international animation venue, indicating that Paramount intends to develop and market the film through festival-facing industry channels, rather than solely through standard studio announcements.

For viewers, the biggest immediate change is that a recognizable horror-themed title is moving to animation, with Trachtenberg attached to direct. For industry watchers, the practical next steps are expected to involve casting, script development, and formal production milestones after the Annecy reveal.

As of publication, Paramount has not provided additional publicly detailed production dates in the report itself, leaving the specific schedule and additional creative team roles to be clarified in later updates.