One, two, Freddy's coming for you Three, four, better lock your door Five, six, grab your crucifix Seven, eight, better stay up late Nine, ten, never sleep again...
We haven't seen Freddy Krueger stalk the screen since the much-maligned 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street starring Watchmen's Jackie Earle Haley, but a recent rumor claimed that there may finally be "some movement" on a reboot of the classic horror franchise.
The U.S. rights to the A Nightmare of Elm Street reverted to the estate of writer-director Wes Craven back in 2019, but New Line retains the international rights. Last we heard, the estate was "taking pitches," but they still need New Line on board or a deal with another domestic distributor to move forward with a new movie.
If and when a new Nightmare on Elm Street film does happen, it's highly unlikely that we'll see OG Freddy Krueger Robert Englund back in the bladed glove and striped jumper - but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be interested in playing the character again in a different medium.
Englund was asked if he'd be open to voicing "The Bastard son of a Thousand Maniacs" in an animated project during an interview with Fangoria.
“Oh, sure. I mean, I’m really busy with voice work anyway. I just did Pinocchio: Unstrung, I’m the evil cricket. I like that idea. When I do the cons and film festivals, I’m confronted with so much great illustration art of Freddy Krueger, conceived in so many ways, whether it’s the storyboards or a great, violent graphic novel, or a comic book, or posters, or even a comedy take on Freddy. I love it.”
In a separate interview with Bloody Disgusting, Englund discussed the possibility of another actor taking over as Freddy, while addressing a rumor that Kevin Bacon may have been eyed to play the sadistic Dream Demon.
“I think, for the sake of the franchise, they need to find someone like a Doug Jones. Years ago, I heard they were considering Kevin Bacon for Freddy Krueger. Kevin’s in a couple of my favorite horror movies; Stir of Echoes I love, and Tremors obviously. I love Kevin as an actor. He’s a true character actor, he just happens to be imprisoned in a leading man’s body, but Kevin is also very physical. I thought that was a great choice, but this was, like, five years ago. I know he’s got all these other projects now and he’s not getting any younger, so he probably wouldn’t be interested.”
If we do get a Nightmare reboot at some point, we'd say the studio would be more likely to cast a relative unknown as Krueger.
In Wes Craven's classic slasher film, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a disfigured midnight mangler who preys on the teenagers in their dreams -- which, in turn, kills them in reality. After investigating the phenomenon, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) begins to suspect that a dark secret kept by her and her friends' parents may be the key to unraveling the mystery, but can Nancy and her boyfriend Glen (Johnny Depp) solve the puzzle before it's too late?