Hollywood’s reboot obsession has spared almost nothing, but somehow, Freddy Krueger has been snoozing in our nightmares for over a decade now. In fact, the last time we saw him claw his way onto screens was in 2010, when Jackie Earle Haley took on the role in a remake that, despite raking in $117.7 million, bored horror fans to sleep. But not because Haley isn’t a great actor (he was terrifyingly good in Watchmen), but because the film forgot what made Freddy fun. His take was too dark, and the story was too grim. But as Robert Englund, the original Freddy actor, put it to Variety, “[Jackie Earle Haley’s] just so good, a wonderful actor… but when they made Freddy a child molester [in the remake], that’s not what Freddy is. By taking it to such a dark place, there’s no room for the personality of Freddy to be exploited.”
I’m sure we can all agree with that statement, right? Freddy Krueger was never supposed to be realistic evil. He was always playful, cinematic evil. He laughs and toys with his victims as if he’s part of a Smurf cartoon. He’s a monster with a dark sense of humor and a face that looks like a deep-fried pizza. The 2010 version stripped that personality away from him completely. And what was up with his new face? He looked like a real burnt victim. What we got instead was a much darker horror film that felt nothing like the playful originals.
But it seems someone’s ready to bring Freddy back. And, thankfully, it’s someone who knows exactly how to handle the character. Chuck Russell, the director behind A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (arguably the best film of the franchise), says he’d love to return to and play in the world again. Speaking on Dread Central’s Development Hell podcast, Russell said, “I’d love to do another Elm Street if there was the full support of everybody. Patricia Arquette has said she’d like to do it again… I still think Robert, for me, is the only Freddy.”
It’s really hard to argue with that. Englund is and will always be THE Freddy. He’s the guy who turned a nightmarish killer into a pop culture icon that haunted our dreams for decades. Still, when the podcast’s host, Josh Korngut, suggested Jim Carrey might be a fit for the glove, considering Russell worked with him on The Mask, Russell didn’t laugh it off. In fact, he loved the idea. “Yeah, that would be great. Jim, in my opinion, could almost do anything if he put his heart into it,” he said. “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.”
Now that’s a great idea, right?. Carrey, the master of facial elasticity and comedy, doing Freddy Krueger? Imagine Fire Marshal Bill with a glove full of knives. He’s got the range, the physicality, and the warped dark humor to bring back Freddy’s twisted charisma. And while the internet has tossed around names like Kevin Bacon, Willem Dafoe, and Andy Serkis, Russell’s pick feels both unexpected and perfect.
Serkis would undoubtedly bring a lot to the role, too. Just looking back at his filmography, it’s easy to see why. He’s a master of movement and menace (look at his role as Caesar in the Planet of the Apes franchise), but Carrey could make Freddy frightening and fun again.
Since Wes Craven’s estate regained the rights back in 2019, there’s been talk of a new reboot, but, unfortunately, nothing has materialised yet. Still, with Russell keen, Arquette open, and fans ready to revisit Elm Street again, it feels like the door hasn’t completely closed yet.
Also, there’s the option of doing an animated Nightmare on Elm Street, with Robert Englund returning as Freddy Krueger. He’s super keen on the idea too. Now, someone just needs to put it together.
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