Robert Englund hasn’t donned Freddy Krueger’s iconic clawed glove and fedora since 2003 when the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise crossed over with Friday the 13th, and the series has struggled to move forward without him. If the negative reception to Samuel Bayer’s 2010 reboot proved one thing, it’s that the fans don’t like the idea of seeing anyone other than Englund in the role of Freddy.
Although the horror franchise has remained dormant for the last decade, there’s been talk of a possible revival of late. Elijah Wood is keen to bring A Nightmare on Elm Street back for another instalment via his company SpectreVision and is said to have held early talks about the viability of this with Wes Craven’s estate. What’s more, the Lord of the Rings star has assured fans that he would only press ahead if there was a role for Englund in the revival.
With all of this in mind, artist Creepy Duck Design has knocked up a fan poster imagining how Englund might look as Freddy in a Nightmare on Elm Street prequel called Krueger. It shows the horror icon in human form breathing in the souls of his victims and is set against the caption: Every nightmare has a beginning.
The poster is sure to strike a chord with Elm Street fans, not least because many of them long to see Englund return to the role he made famous in the 1980s. A prequel to Craven’s original exploring Freddy’s early crimes, his death and subsequent transformation into the killer would be an interesting direction to take, although his origin story has already been told in the original movies.
With Englund now in his early 70s, he may have one final Freddy film in him, ideally one that gives him a better send-off than Freddy vs. Jason, but the studio will likely have to act fast to make this happen, since he isn’t getting any younger. His aged appearance shouldn’t rule out the possibility of a prequel, either, since the disfigured Krueger from the original films doesn’t exactly look youthful.
Craven’s estate is rumored to be mulling over different ideas for a Nightmare on Elm Street revival, with movie and TV show concepts said to be under consideration. And while a prequel could definitely work, most fans would welcome a new instalment of any kind as long as Englund is involved.