Well, well, well, what a day this is turning out to be for fans of major 80s horror movies, eh? We’ve had first-look shots from Mike Flanagan’s Prime Video Carrie series, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it teaser for Friday The 13th prequel series Crystal Lake, and now an exciting update on an iconic horror franchise — and villain — that’s laid dormant for the past 16 years, patiently waiting to make its knife-fingered return. Yes, A Nightmare On Elm Street is coming back. Freddy Krueger is dusting off the red-and-green striped jumper. And the franchise has a whole new home, too, from which to weave its terrors.
Per THR‘s reporting, Paramount has sealed a deal with the estate of Wes Craven to bring the iconic horror franchise — or, more precisely, the U.S. rights to the screenplay of the original 1984 movie — under the ownership of its new Paramount Primal imprint. A genre-targeted new division of paramount headed up by Barbarian and Friendship producers J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, Paramount Primal will oversee the first new Nightmare On Elm Street since 2010’s poorly received take on the dream-stalking child killer and his reign of suburban terror.
“We look forward to bringing the world of Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street to a new and completely engaged generation of fans,” said Craven’s widow Iya Labunka in a statement accompanying news of Paramount’s deal. “We know that Wes would have been thrilled to see how horror is taking its long overdue place in the cultural canon. We can’t wait for all of us to sit together in a dark theatre – around the campfire of today – as the next chapter of the Nightmare story unfolds.” Added Lifshitz and Margules: “We can’t remember a time before we were fans of Wes Craven. The fact that Iya and Jonathan have entrusted us with this opportunity to help usher a new story into this world is an honor beyond words. We look forward to working alongside them to bring a terrifying new nightmare to audiences everywhere, and to welcome Freddy home.”
We’ve no word yet on who’ll be helming A Nightmare On Elm Street‘s long overdue cinematic return, who’ll star in the movie, or indeed exactly what approach Paramount Primal is planning on taking to the franchise, which is set to resurface amid something of a new golden age for big-screen horror. All we really know is that it’s happening. It’s exciting. And— wait! What’s that? One, two, Freddy’s coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight, gonna stay up late. Nine, ten, never sleep again… Blimey!
Sources Links
THR
