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Credit: Inside the MagicThe Platinum Dunes’ A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot might have grossed over $117.7M against its $35M budget in 2010, but things have been eerily quiet on the Elm Street front ever since. That said, the film was slashed to pieces by fans and critics.
That’s not to say there haven’t been talks of bringing Freddy Krueger back to life once again (which would be the tenth time), but the fact that another Elm Street reboot hasn’t been dreamed up in this day and age is more than puzzling, especially when you have all the other iconic slasher franchises continuing to churn out remakes, sequels, prequels, and TV shows.
Related: Millie Bobby Brown Faces Freddy Krueger in New ‘Elm Street’ Reboot Trailer
Between the small screen and the silver screen, Child’s Play, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Scream, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre continue to release new content. There was the fan-made Elm Street film Dylan’s New Nightmare (2023) last year, but a low-budget, straight-to-YouTube mini-flick is hardly what Elm Street fans have been waiting 14 years to see.
While it’s almost impossible to imagine anyone else slipping into the dirty fedora hat, red-and-green-striped sweater, and razor-fingered glove of the iconic dream demon other than Robert Englund, the 2010 remake did prove that it is possible. The film might be pretty terrible (and, ironically, half-asleep), but Jackie Earle Haley did a pretty good job as Freddy Krueger, despite not having the best material to work with (anyone who thinks Robert Englund did a better job in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Elm Street movies is dreaming).
Related: How to Watch the ‘Elm Street’ Movies, Including the Reboot and TV Series
While there’s still no word about a new movie (or TV series) in the works, recently, at CCXP (Comic-Con Experience) Mexico City, a famous director did talk about tackling the Elm Street IP, telling Collider that the iconic horror franchise would be his favorite to take on.
During the panel, Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts was asked by fellow filmmaker David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Bullet Train, The Fall Guy), “If you could take on any IP, why would you do it? What would it be?”
“I don’t want to take on IP, I wanna come up with my own original ideas,” Watts replied, before settling on Elm Street (if he really had to), saying, “Or [A] Nightmare on Elm Street. I love [A] Nightmare on Elm Street. I think [A] Nightmare on Elm Street is so cool, and I think you could keep making [A] Nightmare on Elm Street forever.”
Related: ‘Elm Street’ Reboot May Feature a Female Freddy Krueger
New Line Cinema certainly tried to make those movies forever. After Wes Craven’s original 1984 film, we had several sequels. Some are great (A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare), others not so much (anything that isn’t one of the aforementioned sequels, except maybe 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason).
Watts went on to ask why there aren’t any newer films in the franchise, saying, “I would really, really have to think about it. I love [A] Nightmare on Elm Street. I think they’re so great. I love those movies. Why aren’t there more of them?”
Related: Brand-New ‘Elm Street’ Sequel Is Now Available to Watch Online!
But should Watts end up helming the A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot at some point the future, he’s already worked with the perfect replacement for Robert Englund — the Norman Osborn/Green Goblin actor Willem Dafoe.
Dafoe originally portrayed the iconic Spider-Man villain in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002), however, Watts’ Multiversal MCU flick Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) allowed for his return, along with many other “non-MCU” villains and their respective actors such as Max Dillon/Electro (Jamie Foxx) and Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), as well as Peter Parker/Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, who joined the MCU’s Spidey Tom Holland.
Related: Robert Englund Finally Addresses Return in Long-Awaited ‘Elm Street’ Reboot
Willem Dafoe has a long history of playing creepy characters and unhinged villains, from the cruise ship terrorist John Geiger in the sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) to the enigmatic and disturbed lighthouse keeper Thomas Wake in The Lighthouse (2019).
The Hollywood star’s name usually comes up in conversation when Batman fans are imagining new portrayals of The Joker (it’s that devilish smile, of course), but we think Dafoe would be a perfect fit for Freddy Krueger in the long-awaited Elm Street reboot.
Would you like to see Willem Dafoe play Freddy Krueger in the Elm Street reboot? Let Inside the Magic know your thoughts in the comments down below!