Wes Craven’s Estate Earn Rights to A Nightmare on Elm Street

There has been no official word on a new A Nightmare on Elm Street moving forward anytime soon, but when those plans begin to developing, Wes Craven‘s estate will be involved, as it has earned the rights not only to the original film but also the character of Freddy Krueger. While this doesn’t mean a new film will be taking shape anytime soon, Bloody Disgusting confirmed that Craven’s estate now owns the U.S. rights to the character, with any future project likely requiring their input and approval to move forward. With the rights to the Friday the 13th franchise and its Jason Voorhees character in limbo, this comes as a relief to Elm Street fans.

Craven wrote and directed the original film, while Friday the 13th was created by Sean S. Cunningham, having tapped writer Victor Miller to craft the screenplay. Miller has taken legal action against Cunningham to take more ownership of the franchise, with ongoing legal battles stalling not only the film series, but preventing Friday the 13th video game content from being released. If the right opportunity comes along, these complications won’t be a factor with a new Nightmare on Elm Street.

That being said, the last entry in the series came in 2010 in the form of a reboot, which failed to connect with either critics or audiences, stagnating the series indefinitely. Various reports have emerged in the years since that filmmakers were interested in directing a new film in the series, though none of these reports have resulted in the actual development of a film.

One of the reasons the reboot struggled to find an audience is because Robert Englund, who defined the character on screen, was replaced by Jackie Earle Haley to create a new narrative. Were a new film to move forward, Englund said he might be up for reprising the role.

“I’m not Freddy anymore, you guys. I could do one more…probably,” Englund shared with the crowd at Monster Mania. “If you shot me up with vitamin C. But here’s the thing: I can’t do eight more, you guys. So we need a new actor that you guys believe in and trust and love that can go the distance.”

Englund isn’t the only original star who would love to star in a sequel, with Heather Langenkamp also confessing her interest in returning to the franchise.

“I would really love to reprise Nancy in a way, because I feel that there’s more of that story to be told, certainly,” Langenkamp shared with ComicBook.com. “But I don’t know if there’s anyone out there who is as imaginative as Wes Craven, who could figure it out. I just don’t know. I don’t see enough great storylines that would incorporate Nancy in any universe. I just don’t know if that exists, but some brilliant person might be working on something. But I know the fans would love it so much, because I see them in these situations where they’re so enthusiastic.”

She added, “They’re such great fans that the horror genre just doesn’t seem to appreciate them enough. I constantly walk away with, these are people who have created a genre just out of pure love over the past 30 years. Their love of these movies has actually buoyed this genre in a way that no other genres, I think, can say that’s the reason why they’re so successful. And so, for their sake, I think, give them what they want. If this is what they want, they’re telling me they want it, then why wouldn’t you give people what they want?”

Stay tuned for details on the future of the A Nightmare on Elm Street series.

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