Is Freddy Krueger set to return yet again?

One of the highlights of the recent Ready Player One Trailer was the brief shot of a certain horror icon seen leaping through the air in CGI form. Although it’s likely to be a small cameo in the Spielberg feature, Freddy Krueger may be set to return in a leading role with a new film version of the classic horror series according to Annabelle director David F. Sandberg. Speaking to Screenrant he said,

“I’ve been thinking about what fun franchises New Line has like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Critters. Might be fun if you took something like that in a different direction from previous installments. Like instead of remaking Nightmare you do some continuation of it in the same world kind of thing.”

The director of the Conjuring series of films would seem like the ideal choice to reintroduce the character back to the big screen and he has already shown that he is capable of introducing scares on a large scale.

The last film featuring everybody’s worst nightmare was the 2010 remake which did not feature original actor Robert Englund, with the iconic role being played by Watchmen’s Jackie Earle Haley was met with little in the way of critical acclaim. Englund last wore the striped jersey in 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason although he did briefly reprise the role for television in 2005’s Nightmare on Elm Street: Real Nightmares, a frankly bizarre show in which Freddy took part in a surreal game show with Freddy hosting and challenging contestants to face their fears.

The Critters franchise developed a cult following on VHS, piggy-backing on the success of Gremlins and was last seen in 1992 with the release of the fourth instalment in the series. A revival of sorts was mooted with recent talk of a TV series being developed.