A while back, I wrote an article explaining what I believe happened to Jason Voorhees between his “drowning” and the events of the first Friday The 13th film. After that, someone suggested that I explain what happened between Jason X and Freddy vs. Jason. I had a few theories but not really any that stuck out. Recently, I’ve been re-watching all of the Elm Street movies for a separate article, and I have to say I am MUCH more curious about what happened between Freddy’s Dead and Freddy vs. Jason! I’ll probably have more questions than answers by the time I finish this article, but let’s get started!! (SPOILER ALERT!!!)

So, in Freddy’s Dead, Freddy (Robert Englund) accomplished his goal and killed ALL of the kids in Springwood. Then, every adult in the town went mad. In the beginning, the movie stated that it’s set “10 years from now.” Now, my first question is where is “Now” in this timeline? Are we talking about 10 years after Freddy started killing kids when he was human? Or are we talking about when Freddy first appeared in spirit form in 1984? OR, are we talking about 10 years after Alice last defeated Freddy? If that’s the case, then Freddy’s Dead would take place in 1999, still taking place before the events of Freddy vs. Jason, which I assume was set in 2003.

So, Freddy’s Dead had absolutely no more kids and all of the adults went crazy with Freddy Fever. In Freddy vs. Jason, Springwood was a thriving town again, filled with kids and almost no Freddy problems. Now, in order for that to work, enough time would have to pass for people to start rebuilding the town, moving all these people in, Freddy to start killing kids again, the adults realizing what exactly was happening, and quarantining all the kids who had nightmares about Freddy to incapacitate him. So, if it was between 1999 and 2003, then that’s only 4 years, which… is definitely still possible, but it doesn’t seem like enough time to me.

ALSO, I completely forgot that kids started getting put in Weston Hills 4 years prior to the events of Freddy vs. Jason, because Will (Jason Ritter) spent 4 years there after witnessing Freddy kill Lori’s (Monica Keena) mom. So it all would’ve had to happen in 1999, so that timeline just wouldn’t work. So, going with the time span from 1984-1994-2003 instead, that timeline seems much more possible.

I initially questioned that if it was all new people who moved to Springwood, how would they know about Freddy enough for him to become powerful again. I realize that was a silly question because all the people who went mad had no problem talking about Freddy and what he did. So my question now is who, in their right mind, comes to a down like Springwood, rundown with a horrible history of dead kids and crazy adults and thinks, “Yes, this is our town. We can rebuild it to its former glory and be a loving community, blah blah blah”?

Another question I had is what happened to all of the adults who went mad? Were they also sent to Weston Hills because they’ve had contact with Freddy? Or once Freddy was “killed” the last time, did his hold on the town disappear and the adults found their sanity again? I have to go with the first option because Freddy never truly dies, he always had a hold on the town.

I know one could argue that both films take place in separate universes and Freddy’s Dead never happened before Freddy vs. Jason. However, when Freddy was telling his story to the audience, we can clearly see the heroes of Freddy’s Dead in his flashback, so it is indeed still canon in this universe. I also wonder if Maggie (Lisa Zane), Doc (Yaphet Kotto), and Tracy (Lezlie Deane) ever found out that they didn’t actually kill Freddy and he was still haunting the town.

I know this article is pretty random, but I would still love to hear your thoughts on the subject! Do you think the timeline makes sense? What do you think happened to all of the adults? Let me know your opinions/theories in the comments!