Robert Englund has turned up, at least officially, as Freddy Krueger in eight A Nightmare on Elm Street movies, and remains one of the most iconic of all the horror villains. However, Englund didn’t come back for the flawed reboot of the franchise in 2010, with the part instead going to Jackie Earle Haley. ScreenRant have now looked at why he didn’t reprise his role in Samuel Bayer’s picture, and here’s what they found.
Unfortunately, there really isn’t much in the way of a shock as to why Englund didn’t return as Freddy in the remake. Effectively, the producers wanted to go in a different direction with the character, particularly in terms of making him scarier and less comical than the version that the actor had developed since 1984. According to him, he wasn’t even keen on a cameo appearance, and had this to say at the time:
“Oh no, they want to have their own identity. They’re rebooting the franchise, and I understand that. I’m not the guy to put down remakes.”
Of course, Englund is no stranger to commenting on his involvement in the slasher series, and has more recently noted that the decision to go back to the origins of Krueger was a bit premature. The controversy over Freddy’s motivations in the 2010 Nightmare certainly bear this out, as the production only succeeded in making the child killer extra creepy without being terribly effective.
However, Englund might still pop up in some form in a new take on Elm Street, which is currently being planned after the legal case over Wes Craven’s rights reached a milestone last year. At various points in the past twelve months, Englund has distanced himself from the potential new project, but there’ve also been reports that the 73-year-old will be included in the action in some respect.
Indeed, Englund seems more enthusiastic about voicing an animated Freddy, while he continues to have opinions on how the Nightmare on Elm Street brand could be reinvented, including a prequel that would go into more depth on Krueger’s backstory.
