Original Freddy Krueger Actor Addresses Elm Street Return

Robert Englund knows better than anyone if he’ll be returning to the world of A Nightmare on Elm Street as the monstrous Freddy Krueger. Englund has been donning Krueger’s hat to haunt dreams and hunt people since Wes craven’s original movie was released in 1984. While several other actors, including Michael Bailey Smith, Tobe Sexton, and Jackie Earle Haley, have played the iconic horror genre villain, Englund is the most prominent and the most prolific Krueger actor among them.

Unfortunately, in an interview with Variety, Englund hasexplained that his time as Freddy Krueger is officially over. At 75 years old, the horror veteran has confirmed that his time as the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise villain has come to a close, though he hasn’t entirely closed the door on appearing in a new installment. Check out his quote below:

“I’m too old and thick to play Freddy now. I just can’t do fight scenes for more than one take anymore, I’ve got a bad neck and bad back and arthritis in my right wrist. So I have to hang it up, but I would love to cameo.”

Will Freddy Krueger Be Appearing Again?

After A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s remake failed, the future of Freddy Krueger appears to be in doubt. It earned $57 million at the box office, its reviews were painfully critical, with many taking particular issue with the reliance on CGI and over-the-top gore. Remaking horror movies is a special kind of challenge, given that the antagonists tend to be as infamous as they are concrete, and changing any aspect of a villain’s mythos can cause some serious uproar, namely a more explicit focus on Freddy’s pedophilic tendencies.

The failure of A Nightmare on Elm Street doesn’t mean that Krueger’s story is officially over. Mike Flanagan, the creator of The Haunting of Hill House, has an A Nightmare on Elm Street pitch. He doesn’t know exactly who to take it to, but he is very excited to see it through to production. Considering he is currently working on completing The Fall of the House of Usher, The Life of Chuck and a Dark Tower TV Show, it will be some time before Krueger’s next movie would be able to go into production if Flanagan’s story is the one to move forward.

There is also the issue of Flanagan finding someone who would actually give him permission to develop A Nightmare on Elm Street. For years, the rights for the franchise exchanged hands at Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, though with Craven’s estate regaining control of them in 2019 and opening up the floor to a variety of pitches, including from 2018’s Halloween producer Jason Blum, one can hope Flanagan’s good standing in the horror genre makes him a viable candidate.

Source: Variety