Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Director Crowns Robert Englund the Only Freddy, But Says Jim Carrey Could Don the Glove

File this under casting ideas I did not have on my bingo card: the guy behind A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors thinks Jim Carrey could actually pull off Freddy Krueger. Yes, Jim Carrey. But there is a catch.

Chuck Russell says Jim Carrey could do it — if the franchise swings big

Talking to Dread Central, Dream Warriors director Chuck Russell said he could see his The Mask star slipping into Freddy’s fedora, but only if the series took a big swing instead of another straight reboot. He specifically pointed to the kind of reinvention Wes Craven did with the ultra-self-aware New Nightmare.

'Jim, in my opinion, could almost do anything if he put his heart into it... I think Jim would only consider it, and I’d only consider harnessing Jim, if there was a bold new direction for Elm Street.'

Before you sharpen your pitchforks, Russell also made it clear he still views Robert Englund as the definitive Freddy. If he ever came back to the franchise, he said priority one would be finding a way to get Englund involved.

If you’re wondering why Russell is even entertaining Carrey for a razor-glove role, there’s history: Russell directed Carrey in The Mask, where Carrey played a meek bank clerk named Stanley who finds a mystical mask that turns him into a green-faced chaos machine. Translation: Russell has seen Carrey go full monster before.

Where Elm Street is right now

• Robert Englund last suited up as Freddy in 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason, the crossover with Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees.
• Jackie Earle Haley took over for the 2010 remake of Wes Craven’s original. That was the last feature-length installment.
• So it has been quiet on Elm Street for a while, which is why the speculation machine keeps spinning.

Englund has his own thoughts on a successor

Englund recently weighed in on who should follow him and it’s an interesting mix of name-y and not. He said he once heard Kevin Bacon’s name floated for Freddy (which, admit it, you can picture), and suggested aiming for someone with a physical chameleon vibe like Doug Jones. His actual preference, though, is to cast an unknown who can build the character fresh without being haunted by comparisons to his take.

So, where does that leave us? Russell is open to Carrey only if there’s a gutsy reinvention, he’d still try to loop in Englund, Englund himself leans toward a clean-slate up-and-comer, and the franchise is sitting idle. It’s a surprisingly compelling mix of ideas — and the kind of behind-the-scenes wrinkle that makes you think about how elastic Freddy could be if someone really swung for the fences.