With the rights to the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise recently landing back in the hands of Wes Craven's estate, it's probably only a matter of time before the franchise returns to the big screen, but will Robert Englund return as the iconic Freddy Krueger, will it be another remake, perhaps something entirely different? Unfortunately, Englund's return as the Springwood Slasher is unlikely.
Over the last few years, Englund has gone back and forth on the matter, sometimes saying he's done with the role entirely and others suggesting he may have one more trip to Elm Street left in him. Back in 2018, Englund reprised the role for a Halloween-themed episode of "The Goldbergs," which of course spawned way more interest in his proper return as the Dream Demon in a feature film. Believe it or not, the last time Englund donned the striped sweater and razor glove in a film was over 15 years ago in 2003's Freddy vs. Jason!
In a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly, Englund didn't offer much good news for fans hoping to see him return as Freddy, but he did make sure to mention he's not entirely done with the franchise.
"I don’t think I’ll ever don the makeup again," Englund pointedly told the site, adding, "I’m a little too old for that. I’m a little long in the tooth to play Freddy now. I think if I was doing it, it would be more like Freddy vs. Viagra."
In regards to returning to the Elm Street franchise, Englund brought up the rumored Dream Warriors reboot, stating his willingness to return, even if it's not as Freddy.
"I would love to be invited back if they decide to reboot A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: The Dream Warriors. I would love to come back and maybe play the dream analyst, the woman in the therapy sessions who doesn’t believe that there can be such a thing as a collective nightmare that’s common to a group of people," said Englund. "I think it would be fun for the fans, it would be fun for me to play the part originally played by a woman and do a flip on that. I think there’s kind of a tradition in the horror genre of cameos like that, so that would be fun for me."
"But I have no idea whether they’re going to go on and create completely new stories or whether they’re going to go back and do prequels or origin stories on the Freddy Krueger myth. I don’t know what they’re up to. So, I’m just waiting to hear," he added.
For many fans, myself included, it's hard to imagine an Elm Street film working without Robert Englund front and center, but I for one won't entirely dismiss the idea of a film happening without him.
Although, until an official announcement is made, I'm hoping the right filmmaker can convince Englund to give Freddy one final go of things.
