Summary
Once the bane of every child’s dreams in the1980s, Freddy Krueger could be set to make a comeback sooner rather than later with a newA Nightmare on ElmStreetmovie, but according to New Line Cinema, development on the iconic franchise isn’t as simple as it might sound. Due tohorror’s enduring popularity at the box office in recent years, fans ofNightmare on Elm Streethave been crying out to see the return of Krueger, the child killer who had been burned to death by his victims' parents after evading prison.
It has been about 15 years sinceFreddy Kruegergraced the silver screen with his sinister finger-blades in the hopes of instilling terror into the lives of his unsuspected victims. 2010’sA Nightmare on Elm Streetremake, starring Jackie Earle Haley as Krueger, wasn’t particularly popular with the movie’s loyal fanbase who described it as “lackluster” and “void of compelling characters”. However, despite its mostly negative response, the remake became the highest-grossing film in the franchise, grossing over $117.7 million worldwide at the box office. In comparison, the originalA Nightmare on Elm Street, which was released in 1984, grossed $57.1 million worldwide, so the difference is quite staggering. In light of Jackie Earle Haley’s April Fool’s Day jokewhich stated that a direct sequel is on the way, development details on a reboot have now been revealed.
New Line Boss Shares an Update on A Nightmare on Elm Street Reboot
In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, New Line Cinema President and Chief Creative Officer, Richard Brener, was asked if a newNightmare on Elm Streetmovie was currently in development.Brener, who has been at New Line for 30 years and who also discussed the future of theConjuringandFridayfranchises, revealed that he was hopeful the iconic 80s horror movie would be returning to screens, but that doing so was “complicated” due to the rights to the franchise being reverted to the estate ofWes Cravenin 2019, however, New Line does still retain the international rights.
“We hope so. It’s complicated because of the rights.”
Robert Englund, who played Freddy Kruegerand will always be known as the face of the sadistic child killer, recently revealed in an interview withBloody Disgustingthat fans won’t get to see him don those iconic blades or red and green-striped sweater again, saying that he was done playing the evil antagonist of theA Nightmare on Elm Street.“There’s no Freddy left in me," Englund exclaimed, stating that he didn’t want to end up breaking some bones in a fight scene due to his age now, but he would be open to voicing an animated version of the movie.
A few years ago, Englund did have his opinions on who should direct a newNightmare on Elm Street. With Wes Craven’s sad passing in 2015, there were questions about who would be qualified to direct aNightmare on Elm Streetreboot, butEnglund believes he knows the perfect director, and it’s, of course, Jordan Peele.“There’s extraordinary work being done right now. I don’t want to live in a world without Jordan Peele.Get Outis absolute genius,” Englund said.
