One, two, Freddy's comin' for you... probably!
According to Dread Central, Warner Bros.’ A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, which had Evil Dead Rise and The Mummy director Lee Cronin attached to write and direct, is no longer moving forward.
However, Freddy Krueger may still return to the big screen via a separate Paramount Primal Elm Street film.
Both studios had been racing to get their respective takes on the iconic "Dream Demon" into production, but with the WB version now dead in the water, Paramount's is the only one left standing.
Paramount announced its deal with the Wes Craven estate in July, licensing the U.S. rights for a new movie based on Craven’s original screenplay. Iya Labunka, Jonathan Craven, and attorney Marc Toberoff are producing, with J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of Paramount Primal executive producing.
Apparently, Warner Bros., which retained the international rights, wasn’t too happy about this.
"From what I’ve learned, Michael De Luca pushed to get Warner’s own version into production before Paramount could make theirs, with the looming merger adding urgency to that effort. Well, the merger happened."
If and when a new Nightmare on Elm Street film does happen, fans shouldn't expect to see OG Freddy, Robert Englund, back in the villain's bladed glove and striped jumper.
“There’s no Freddy left in me," he told Bloody Disgusting in a recent interview. "I could possibly voice a really high-end animated version. That would be nice to be asked to do, but I know I can’t do the fight scenes more than one take now, one angle. I just can’t be snapping my head or anything like that. I’m an old dog! Give me a break.”
“I don’t. I literally don’t. I mean, there might be some gimmick thing we could do with a close-up or something, but no, I can’t play him anymore. I’m too old,” he added.
Chuck Russell, the co-writer and director of what many fans consider to be the best movie in the franchise, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, has expressed interest in returning to helm another movie, and though he notes that Englund “is the only Freddy” to him, he does have a very interesting idea for the actor who could take over the role: Jim Carrey.
“Jim, in my opinion, could almost do anything if he put his heart into it,” he said on Dread Central’s Development Hell podcast. “For Jim to do it, we’d have to do something that was another leap in the Elm Street series — a little bit like what Wes did with his very meta New Nightmare. I think Jim would only consider it, and I’d only consider harnessing Jim, if there was a bold new direction for Elm Street.”
What would you like to see from a new NOES movie? Let us know in the comments.
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?