‘Crystal Lake’ Reveals New Timeline Details and the Return of ‘Friday the 13th’ Composer Harry Manfredini

We now know a little more about where Crystal Lake fits into the Friday the 13th timeline — and the upcoming prequel series is also bringing back a very important piece of the original franchise.

A24 and Peacock’s Crystal Lake will take place eight years before the events of the original Friday the 13th, according to a new preview from Empire.

The timeline is getting a slight makeover in the new series. While the original 1980 slasher established that young Jason Voorhees drowned in the late 1950s, Crystal Lake moves his death to the summer of 1971.

The bulk of the series then takes place in 1972.

That means Jason is still a young boy when the events of the series unfold, with Callum Vinson (Chucky) playing the character and Linda Cardellini portraying his mother, Pamela Voorhees.

Showrunner Brad Caleb Kane explains that Pamela works as a cook at Camp Crystal Lake while 11-year-old Jason spends the summer at the camp, participating in activities despite his physical limitations.

Pamela is determined to give her son a normal summer and help him fit in with the other children.

We already know how that summer ends.

Kane teases that the story will eventually take Pamela down a much darker path, with the events leading to her “total psychotic break and subsequent bloody rampage.”

But the timeline isn’t the only connection to the original Friday the 13th.

Harry Manfredini Returns to Crystal Lake

One of the most exciting reveals is that Friday the 13th composer Harry Manfredini has returned to the franchise to create brand new music for the opening title sequence of Crystal Lake.

Manfredini composed the iconic score for the original 1980 film and is responsible for the instantly recognizable “Ki Ki Ki Ma Ma Ma” sound that became synonymous with Jason Voorhees.

The new opening sequence will reportedly pay tribute directly to the original movie while giving the series its own 1970s atmosphere.

Kane tells Empire that the sequence was inspired in part by the grainy, nerve-jangling style of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, while also incorporating visual callbacks to the original Friday the 13th.

The words “Crystal Lake” will reportedly appear on screen before shattering glass, with the opening credits using the same font as the 1980 movie.

Having Manfredini back to provide new music makes that connection even stronger.

Crystal Lake follows Pamela Voorhees nearly a year after the drowning of her son. Still consumed by grief, Pamela’s life begins to unravel when two strangers arrive at her home investigating her past, setting off a disturbing chain of events that will eventually turn the quiet community of Crystal Lake into something far more sinister.

The eight-episode series premieres October 15 on Peacock.

Alongside Cardellini and Vinson, the series brings back other familiar Friday the 13th mythology, including Crazy Ralph.

With the new timeline, returning franchise elements, and now original music from the composer who helped define the sound of Friday the 13th, Crystal Lake is shaping up to be a very different kind of prequel — while still keeping one foot firmly planted in the original classic.