Credit: New Line CinemaA new A Nightmare on Elm Street is officially in development, The Hollywood Reporter revealed on Monday, July 13.
“Paramount Pictures has closed a deal for the U.S. rights to the original screenplay of A Nightmare on Elm Street, the movie written and directed by Wes Craven that kicked off the popular horror franchise featuring the killer with the metal-claw gloved hand and burned face, and will adapt it into a new feature,” the outlet wrote.
“The new Nightmare on Elm Street will hail from Paramount’s new genre label, Paramount Primal, led by J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, the producers behind films such as Barbarian and Friendship,” it continued. “The U.S. rights are being licensed from the Craven estate, which includes Craven’s widow Iya Labunka and Craven’s son Jonathan Craven. The duo will produce the new iteration with Marc Toberoff, the attorney-turned-producer who specializes in copyright law. Lifshitz and Margules will executive produce for Paramount Primal.”
Labunka said in a statement:
“We look forward to bringing the world of Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street to a new and completely engaged generation of fans. We know that Wes would have been thrilled to see how horror is taking its long overdue place in the cultural canon. We can’t wait for all of us to sit together in a dark theater – around the campfire of today – as the next chapter of the Nightmare story unfolds.”
The 1984 film spawned a multimedia franchise, which includes sequels, spinoffs, crossovers, a television series, and a reboot in 2010. The rights to A Nightmare on Elm Street were previously held by New Line Cinema, which became part of Warner Bros. following its acquisition in 2008.
Related: How To Watch the ‘Elm Street’ Movies, Including the Reboot and TV Series
This news has been a long time coming for Freddy fans, who have been waiting for a new film ever since Jackie Earle Haley donned the razor-fingered glove in the 2010 film, taking over from Robert Englund, who had played the iconic villain in eight Elm Street films and the TV series.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), which was produced by New Line Cinema and Platinum Dunes and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, was a box office hit, carving $117.7 million worldwide against a budget of $35 million. However, it was critically panned and largely rejected by audiences for failing to live up to the original 1984 film.
Who Will Play the New Freddy Krueger?
Robert Englund’s return can be ruled out immediately. While he reprised his role as Freddy Krueger in a fun Halloween special of the ’80s-set series The Goldbergs, he told Variety in 2023 that he’s “too old and thick to play Freddy” and “can’t do fight scenes for more than one take anymore,” adding that he has a “bad neck and bad back,” as well as having arthritis in his right wrist. Although he told ComicBook.com in 2024 that he would be open to voicing the character in an animated reboot.
As for who could play Freddy in the new film, a few candidates have been floated over the years, including Kevin Bacon (Hollow Man) and Willem Dafoe (American Psycho). But maybe it’s time to consider whether the iconic “dream demon” could work with a different interpretation altogether — including a female version of the character.
While Paramount hasn’t suggested anything of the sort, there are several capable actresses who could don the fedora and stalk teens in their dreams. For now, no actor has been linked to the role. We also don’t know if the film will be a remake, as the project is described as being “set in the world of A Nightmare on Elm Street, based on the original screenplay,” which suggests that Paramount’s film could potentially revisit Craven’s original instead.
Would you like to see a female version of Freddy Krueger in the Elm Street reboot? Let us know in the comments below!
