Horror films are a classic part of the film industry. What would we do if we couldn’t drown our real-world fears in a cinema seat while sucking down a giant soda and mixing candy into our popcorn buckets? Ever since one of the genre’s masterworks, A Nightmare on Elm Street, was remade in 2010, people have been wondering if the series remakes would continue. And, fans have also wondered if Jackie Earle Haley would return to his role in the next remake or if, possibly, Robert Englund would return to the role. Well, in a Twitter post recently, Englund states that that would be unlikely.
So, what prompted this emphatic tweet from the former star of the frightful franchise? Well, an earlier article from Bloody Disgusting that quotes Robert Englund as saying he figures that the time has passed for him to take part in that way. But he does have an alternative idea...
They’re not gonna be bring me back for Freddy. Perhaps they’d bring me back in a cameo as an elderly dream expert at the local clinic for dream analysis or therapy?
Now, given the severity of the makeup used to bring our beloved Freddy Krueger to vibrant, chilling life, it wouldn’t technically be impossible for Robert Englund to head back to his old horror stomping grounds. He certainly did become the unintended star of the films. I remember fondly going to see one of the films with my mom and hearing other audience members rooting for Freddy to kill any and all teenagers present. As a villain, you just don’t get a response like that unless people love you.
So, it makes perfect sense that people who love the series would want Robert Englund back in the fold, and not just in any capacity, but as that cherished fantasy creeper. This isn’t to say that fans must have hated Jackie Earle Haley’s performance, he’s clearly a good actor capable of cranking up the creep when he needs to, but there’s something sort of oddly cozy about having a familiar actor behind the mask, makeup or scary voice of our prized movie mayhem makers.
Robert Englund’s proposed idea for his part in any continued re-imagined sequels is great. Here’s Mr. Innocently Helpful Dream Researcher just minding his own business, when he gets pulled into this nightmare of murdered kids and their confused, terrified parents. He does all he can, even hook himself up to a Dreamscape like experimental dream sharing machine, so he’s able to see what the teens see and try to make sense of it. And, then he becomes the first adult to ever be killed by Freddy in a nightmare. I mean, that’s the only thing that could happen, right?
