Freddy never really sleeps, he just naps between reboots. Case in point: original Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund, just weighed in on the 2010 Nightmare on Elm Street remake and how he thinks the franchise should actually come back. Short version: the remake wasn’t a disaster in his eyes — just early — and he has a pretty specific playbook for the next go-round.
Englund on the 2010 remake: not awful, just early
Wes Craven’s 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street is a stone-cold classic. The 2010 redo? Not exactly hailed — it sits at 14% on Rotten Tomatoes. In a new interview with IndieWire, Englund didn’t pile on. He called the remake more 'premature' than bad and made a point to defend the cast.
'I love a lot of the actors in the movie, so I’m not going to say anything bad about it, I just think the timing was off.'
What that remake actually did
The 2010 version starred Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy and a then–Oscar-nominated Rooney Mara as Nancy. The plot stuck close to the original idea: a group of teens are hunted — and dispatched, graphically — by an undead child killer who invades their dreams.
Behind the scenes, the plan reportedly started out like Platinum Dunes’ Friday the 13th reboot strategy: mash up the greatest hits from across the sequels into one streamlined movie. Instead, the remake took a different swing and reintroduced a controversial element Wes Craven had cut from his 1984 film — Freddy’s sex-offender backstory. Critics didn’t love it, but audiences still showed up; the movie grossed $117.7 million worldwide, which makes it the highest-earning entry in the franchise.
If Hollywood tries again, here’s Englund’s roadmap
Englund, who popped up as Victor Creel in Stranger Things season 4, thinks another reboot is inevitable. He even laid out the version he’d make — and it’s not a straight redo of the first movie.
- Start with Part 2 as a standalone: Lean into the subtext of Freddy manipulating Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton) and getting inside his subconscious.
- Do not touch Nightmare 1 again: Leave the original where it is.
- Then reboot the fan favorites: Kick off with Dream Warriors (Part 3), which he calls the franchise’s biggest success, and follow with Parts 4 and 5.
- Finish with a prequel: Close the new run by going back to Freddy’s origins.
Why Englund hasn’t worn the glove in 22+ years
It’s not that he doesn’t want to play Freddy again; it’s that the rights are a maze. He says there are a lot of stakeholders with pieces of the property. When Wes Craven passed away, a significant chunk of rights moved to his estate — not just broad ownership, but specific elements like character names and plot components. New Line Cinema still has a big stake. A lot of that was once surrendered to Ted Turner and ultimately landed at Warner Bros., so Warner has a major piece now too. Add in past interest from Michael Bay and also Blumhouse, and you can see why getting everyone aligned is a headache. Until that’s sorted, Englund’s content to consult from the sidelines rather than strap on the razor glove.