Robert Englund Urges Freddy vs. Jason Director to Come Out of Retirement for One Last Nightmare

Robert Englund is out here campaigning for a comeback we did not have on our bingo card: he wants Ronny Yu back in the horror game. Yes, the original Freddy Krueger is still thinking about the guy who wrangled Freddy vs. Jason into existence, and he is not subtle about it.

"I’d really love to see something new from Ronnie Yu."

Englund dropped that in a chat with Dread Central, then launched into a very specific memory: a film festival morning in France, 9 a.m., sitting with John Landis, mainlining giant bowls of coffee, and watching Bride of Chucky. It is a charmingly odd visual, and it also says a lot about how much Yu’s studio horror run stuck with him.

Englund also praised Yu’s knack for edgy, graphic-novel-style horror. And for what it is worth, he calls him Ronnie with an ie, but yes, we are talking about Ronny Yu.

So... would Englund be in it?

He did not flat-out say he wants to star in whatever Yu does next. But given how warmly he talks about Freddy vs. Jason, it is not a stretch to think he would be game if the right project came along.

Where Ronny Yu left off

Yu started in Hong Kong (a lot of action on his resume) and made a mark in horror with The Phantom Lover before pivoting into more U.S.-facing projects. Then he went on a hot streak that pulled two major franchises out of the garage:

• 1998: Bride of Chucky, which revived the Child’s Play series after a seven-year break
• Early 2000s: Freddy vs. Jason, the long-teased matchup finally delivered on the big screen
• Post-FvJ: He did not direct another horror film. Instead, he made Fearless in 2006 and the war drama Saving General Yang in 2013

Since then? Nothing. It has been over a decade since Yu directed anything, which is exactly why Englund is nudging him from the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Englund never left

Englund has stayed busy in genre projects: popping up in Stranger Things, headlining indie slasher fare like Natty Knocks, and next on deck is the upcoming thriller Harvest Moon. The man is still very much in the mix.

If Yu decides to dust off his horror gear, it sounds like there is at least one icon ready to cheer him on. Honestly, same.