At 72-years-old, Robert Englund is probably getting too old to still be playing his most iconic role, Freddy Krueger, in A Nightmare on Elm Street. In fact, the last time he put on the claws and burn makeup (save for a cameo appearance on The Goldbergs in 2018), it was for Freddie vs. Jason way back in 2003. But there is one other way he could still play the character.
While promoting his upcoming docuseries, True Terror, which will debut on the Travel Channel next month, Englund expressed interest in the possibility of an animated version of Krueger, saying:
“Now, if they did a really expensive animated version, a graphic novel animated version, I would love to go do the voice for it. Yeah, that would be fun to do.”
A Nightmare on Elm Street in animation would be an interesting idea, no doubt. We don’t often get R-rated animated content, but with the emergence of shows like Big Mouth and Bojack Horseman on Netflix, there’s certainly a market for it. The only hang up would be with the rights. The original director, Wes Craven, passed away in 2015 and the franchise is currently owned by the Craven estate. But they are taking pitches for new iterations, so who knows?
Of course, the last attempt was the forgettable 2010 reboot starring Jackie Earle Haley. New Line was hoping it would reinvigorate the franchise, but the only memorable aspect to that film was seeing a young Rooney Mara in it.
Englund would be interested in doing a cameo in a remake or reboot, too, and he even has a suggestion of which sequel he’d love to appear in.
“If, for instance, they remade Part III [Dream Warriors], which is the biggest hit of the franchise, I would love to be invited to do a cameo. I think there’s a tradition in horror movies and in remakes for the cameo. It’s a certain kind of valentine to the fans and I know that there’s a part in [Dream Warriors where] the great Priscilla Pointer… played this sort of skeptical dream therapist in the group sessions. I think it would be fun for me to play that part if there was a remake… To have me not believe in collective nightmares. Having played Freddy, everybody’s favorite nightmare, I think it would be fun for me to play a guy that doesn’t believe in nightmares.”
It actually might be the perfect time to remake A Nightmare on Elm Street as well. The 2018 Halloween was a massive success and there’s two more sequels on the way. And with Elm Street’s competition, Friday The 13th, currently in a legal battle, the time really seems to be right now.
