A new Nightmare on Elm Street film is in the works, but this time, Paramount is re-imagining the iconic horror flick.
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Paramount has secured the rights to the original script for Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street, allowing the studio to adapt it into a new film. Paramount will deliver the movie through its new genre label, Paramount Primal, which is helmed by J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, the producers of films like Barbarian and Friendship.
Details on the new take are under wraps and it's unclear if the film even has a writer or director attached to bring it to life, but members of Craven's estate will produce. Craven’s widow, Iya Labunka, and his son, Jonathan Craven, will produce the film along with Marc Toberoff.
“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 Labunka in a statement. “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.”
"We can’t remember a time before we were fans of Wes Craven," said J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules in a statement. "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.”
It has been 16 years since the last Elm Street film, which was slammed by critics and made a modest splash at the box office. Freddy Kruger has remained absent from the big screen ever since, but there were attempts to bring him back throughout the 2010s. However, the writer of a now-scrapped Elm Street reboot, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, stated that New Line Cinema became too pre-occupied with The Conjuring films and put Freddy on the backburner.
It'll likely be a couple of years before Freddy returns, but it wouldn't be surprising if he goes toe-to-toe with Jason Voorhees at the box office. A new Friday the 13th movie is also in the works, but no details have been revealed about what that film will look like. Either way, it seems like all of our beloved horror icons from the 80s are back.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
