Will we ever get a new A Nightmare on Elm Street movie? With Robert Englund having formally retired from playing Freddy Krueger, all that’s left is to take the series in a new direction with another actor. New Line gave it a shot back in 2010, with a remake that’s now considered one of the worst horror movies of all time. Would they dare try to revisit the series once more, risking another massive critical failure?
It’s hard to say if we’ll ever see a new entry in the series one day. The 2010 reboot was a hit at the box office, even if people were walking away unsatisfied. There’s more money to be made with Freddy Krueger, so there remains a good chance New Line will roll the dice once again with another movie.
Although Englund is through as Krueger, however, he still has some ideas to keep the series going. Speaking at the Summer Television Critics Association gathering, Englund pitched an intriguing idea for a new Elm Street movie. What’s most interesting is how the film, if made, could serve as a sequel to the original movies in the series – even without Englund!
“If I had an Eli Roth budget I would have cast different actors to play Freddy for every potential victim, because Freddy is only alive in the imagination of his future victim,” Englund explains in his pitch. “They would talk about it at a slumber party or in a locker room at school, or on the bus going home. All we know about this Fred Krueger is he wears a hat, wears a red and green striped sweater and has a clawed hand. That’s the specifics.”
In other words, Englund is suggesting we have a different actor (or CGI representation, even) portraying Freddy every time you see him. This is indeed a solid idea that creates the potential for some amazing and unique nightmare sequences. Ultimately, however, I think fans would be disappointed without the payoff of some kind of cameo from Englund in the end. Yeah, he says he’s retired… but we can still dream, can’t we
