Freddy’s Back: Paramount Is Giving Nightmare On Elm Street Another Disastrous Reboot

By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated 21 seconds ago

While the quality of the Nightmare on Elm Street films could be very hit or miss, nobody can deny that Freddy Krueger was the greatest horror villain of the ‘80s. That’s because he was played by the one and only Robert Englund, who transformed this villain into a monster of many faces. At first, Freddy was a very serious villain, one who intimidated victims primarily through his horrific appearance. As time went on, though, the films made Freddy a darkly comic figure, one prone to shouting out vulgar jokes while slashing terrified teens to pieces.

Of course, nobody can play the same role forever, so A Nightmare on Elm Street got an inevitable reboot in 2010. However, nobody really liked this film, and they especially hated Jackie Earle Haley as the iconic villain. The franchise has been dormant for the better part of two decades, but that’s about to change. Now, the original dream demon is coming back for yet another reboot. Paramount is working on a new Nightmare on Elm Street movie in the hopes of reviving the scariest slasher villain of the ‘80s to frighten an entirely new generation of moviegoers.

The Man Who Redefined “Sick Burn”

This morning, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Paramount had reached a deal with the estate of Wes Craven, the man who brought us the original Nightmare on Elm Street. The deal allows them to reboot the franchise with a new film from Paramount Prime. This genre label is spearheaded by J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, the producers behind modern horror hits such as Barbarian and black comedies like Friendship. Those producers are hyped “to help usher a new story into this world” and are excited “to bring a terrifying new nightmare to audiences everywhere, and to welcome Freddy home.”

They have the blessing of Wes Craven’s widow, Iya Labunka. “We look forward to bringing the world of Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street to a new and completely engaged generation of fans,” she said. “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 theatre–around the campfire of today–as the next chapter of the Nightmare story unfolds.” 

The Dream Becomes A Nightmare

The bit about horror taking its place is likely a reference to the runaway success of Obsession and Backrooms, two horror films with small budgets that went on to outperform major blockbusters like The Mandalorian and Grogu and Supergirl. However, one of the reasons those scary movies did so well is that they catered to a young audience hungry for fresh ideas. Only time will tell if those young audiences are likely to show up for a reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street, a film that scared their grandparents nearly half a century ago.

On paper, a reboot might please the original fans of the franchise, especially since the new Nightmare on Elm Street is based on the screenplay of the first film and not its inferior sequels. However, that first movie, its seven sequels, and even its spinoff TV show were all powered by Robert Englund, the man who brought Freddy Krueger to such brilliant, bloody life. The 2010 reboot floundered when Jackie Earle Haley stepped into the role, and the new movie will similarly flop if audiences don’t accept the new man behind the claw.

Freddy Vs. The Zoomers

Of course, we won’t know whether the reboot will succeed or fail until it comes out. So far, there’s no release date set, and no official casting announcements have been made. With its pending purchase of Warner Bros., it’s clear that Paramount wants another major franchise that (like Star Trek, which is getting its own cinematic reboot) can drive fans to theaters. But Nightmare on Elm Street hasn’t been relevant in decades, and the fans the studio is aiming for aren’t exactly clamoring for recycled IPs. In point of fact, they are more excited about Hollywood transforming creepypastas to the big screen.

Maybe a generational compromise is in order. Freddy Krueger vs. Jeff the Killer? Now, that’s one fight we’d all pay to see!