Derek Mears to Play Jason Voorhees in New Friday the 13th Film

It looks like Platinum Dunes has found their new Jason Voorhees, according to Bloody Disgusting.

The new man to put on the mask is Derek Mears, a stunt man/creature performer who has been seen in The Hills Have Eyes II, Men in Black II, Cursed and several other films.

The Hills Have Eyes remake star Michael Baily Smith was originally in talks to play Jason but his Hills Have Eyes II co-star got the role instead.

Derek Mears has been doing stunt work since the '90's and his done stunts for Wild Wild West, the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Blades of Glory and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

His creature performances include the Werewolf in Wes Craven's Cursed, Aliens in Men in Black II and Zathura, a Demon father in the Masters of Horror episode "Pro-Life" and the deadly mutant Chameleon in The Hills Have Eyes II.

Mears will be the ninth person to play Jason Voorhees in the infamous Friday the 13th series. Ari Lehman (Friday the 13th), Steve Dash (Friday the 13th Part 2), Richard Brooker (Friday the 13th Part 3), Ted White (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), Tom Morga (brief scenes as Jason in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning), CJ Graham (Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives), Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood--Jason X) and Ken Kirzinger (Freddy vs Jason) previously played the role.

The new Friday the 13th film, previously called a remake is not an origin tale and is about Jason Voorhees killing teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake. No other details are known. The film is going to begin production soon with more people joining the cast. The film is supposedly set during the first four films.

Jared Padalecki ("Supernatural") also joins the cast as the male lead who investigates what's going on at Camp Crystal Lake.

Marcus Nispel, director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, is directing the film. Damien Shannon and Mark Swift, the writers behind Freddy vs Jason, are the screenwriters.

New Line Cinema, Platinum Dunes, MTV and Paramount are handling the distribution for a release on Febuary 13th, 2009.