A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the definitive films of horror history. Now The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan has expressed interest in bringing the Freddy Krueger franchise back to life.
Englund returned to the big screen in 2003 to take on Jason Voorhees in Freddy vs. Jason, but Englund's Freddy Krueger was switched out for Jackie Earle Haley in the forgettable and misguided 2010 remake. Since then, horror fans have been clamouring for another A Nightmare on Elm Street movie, specifically an installment with Englund and Nancy actress Heather Langenkamp.
That anxious A Nightmare on Elm Street fanbase includes directors like Mike Flanagan, the creator of Netflix's perfect Halloween shows The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass. Flanagan has had a lot of success since directing Karen Gillan in Oculus in 2013, and his hope now is to travel to Elm Street. Flanagan hopped on the Script Apart, but the news wasn't all encouraging. "One of the ones that has been on my list forever is Nightmare on Elm Street. Boy, that would be fun. I have a whole take for it that I worked out a couple of years ago. And my understanding is the rights situation for that title is so fraught, no one knows who controls it really. No one knows who to pitch," Flanagan said. "So I keep telling my agents, like, ‘Send me in on A Nightmare on Elm Street.’ And they’re like, ‘We’d love to. We have no idea who you should talk to.’"
Flanagan even said he's spoken with Langenkamp about it at length, who has previously made it known she's up for another Nightmare on Elm Street. But, rights issues can tank a franchise for years, as seen recently via the extended legal battle over Friday the 13th. That dust has settled, and further projects for Jason have been announced, but news has been noticeably light on Freddy.
Given the success of Scream in 2022, the anticipation for the, unfortunately, Neve Campbell-free Scream 6, and the varied success of David Gordon Green's Halloween trilogy, now is the time. If the rights can be procured and Flanagan and Langenkamp are on board, there's no reason to expect Englund to say anything other than an enthusiastic "Yes."
A Nightmare on Elm Street isn't necessarily a franchise that needs a full reboot trilogy, given that Englund is now 75 years old. With that said, Liam Neeson is 70 and currently starring in Marlowe, while Jamie Lee Curtis successfully killed Michael Myers in Halloween Ends at the age of 63. Time will tell, but hopefully, the right people will be in front of and behind the camera.
A Nightmare of Elm Street (1984) is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Script Apart