It seems that all of the horror franchises are making a comeback. This time it’s that monster of our dreams, Freddy Krueger.
According to Bloody Disgusting, the rights to Nightmare on Elm Street have made their way back to Wes Craven’s estate. They had been locked up since the last reboot in 2010, but now the U.S. rights are back home. The international rights are still held by Warner Bros. New Line Cinema unit, but that is not a difficult hurdle to overcome.
If you’re curious as to why rights are so important in this case, the various rights of 1980s horror movies are a bit of a mess. The Friday the 13th franchise’s rights are all over the place and no one is quite sure when they will be sorted out. The Child’s Play rights are currently split in two which is why there could be a recent film reboot and a separate television series in development.
In the case of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven created Freddy as well as wrote the first film’s script meaning it was his idea start to finish. This left the rights “clean” and easy to manage.
Reportedly, the estate is accepting pitches for both a new film as well as a possible series for HBO Max. Oddly enough, this wouldn’t be the first television series with Freddy. Not many people remember there was a series that debuted in 1989 and ran for two seasons called Freddy’s Nightmares. It was an anthology series with stories being introduced and wrapped up by Robert Englund as Freddy. Only the premiere episode was a story about Freddy and told the story of his trial and how the parents came to kill him.
Horror is hot again
With Halloween having made a successful comeback, it seems all of the 1980s and 1990s slasher films are back in play. Scream is being looked at for a reboot. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is reportedly being considered (how many reboots would this make?). You’re probably safe in assuming all of the horror franchises are back on the table for development.
Will they succeed? That’s anyone’s guess. So far it has been a mixed bag somewhat. Our question, of course, is when will we get some new horror concepts? We need a new iconic slasher, folks. Lets get on that.
No word on when the Nightmare projects may move forward.
