By Drew Dietsch
| Revealed 1 hour in the past

Robert Englund is getting a star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame on October thirty first, 2025. It’s a well-deserved reward for a storied profession but additionally as one of popular culture’s landmark boogeymen, Freddy Krueger. At 78 years outdated, it’s heartwarming to see Englund given his flowers and presumably finish his portrayal of the Nightmare on Elm Avenue villain in cinema.

I love the character of Freddy Krueger and assume there are infinite nightmares you’ll be able to spin from that specific thought, however when trying on the greater image, I can solely find yourself with two wishes for the character: 1) Don’t make any extra Freddy Krueger films. Create a brand new character that may be a era’s personal boogeyman, or 2) A brand new Freddy Krueger can’t attempt to do what Robert Englund did with the character.

No Extra Freddy Krueger

My strongest impulse is to let the character of Freddy Krueger hibernate for an indeterminate period of time. In that sleep, what goals could come from the monsters being birthed in at this time’s horror movies.

Black Cellphone 2 brings again the earlier movie’s human boogeyman, The Grabber, as a supernatural stalker within the vein of Freddy Krueger. However as an alternative of merely doing a copy-and-paste job, author C. Robert Cargill and co-writer/director Scott Derrickson have their very own character they’ll craft and play with to their darkish hearts’ content material. I’d reasonably see extra horror figures like The Grabber rising to turn into the brand new faces of the style.

However, look, I love Freddy Krueger. I don’t wish to dwell in a world the place we aren’t nonetheless telling Freddy Krueger tales. The unique film, New Nightmare (my favourite movie of the franchise) and the must-see match-up Freddy vs. Jason are all about (in very other ways) what occurs when individuals cease having a Freddy Krueger to level their concern towards.

So, if we will need to have a Freddy Krueger, it may’t be what Robert Englund made the character.

No Extra Robert Englund

Robert Englund took the preliminary function of Freddy Krueger from Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Avenue and turned the character into an icon he constructed his profession on. It meant that Freddy Krueger grew to become one thing of a depraved hero to a level, or on the very least, extra of a captivating mascot for Robert Englund. Englund’s deliciously hammy performing paired so completely with Freddy’s utilization as a determine of darkish comedian delight.

So if a brand new Freddy Krueger should exist, they both have to return to the fundamentals of the very first movie and the character’s essence, or do one thing really radical with all the idea. You possibly can’t attempt to echo what Robert Englund dropped at Freddy. That was a part of the limitless points with the 2010 remake, which I hate that I even needed to point out.

If Freddy Krueger should proceed as a popular culture determine, the subsequent incarnation should slice their very own distinct path with the character. Freddy grew to become identified for one-liners, however what a few Freddy that by no means speaks? Freddy was a killer in the actual world, however what if Freddy was one thing that solely ever existed in goals?

I’m sure there are many younger filmmakers with concepts about Freddy Krueger I might by no means give you. Give them the reins! Allow them to run wild with radical takes, however don’t let any of these takes be guided by Robert Englund’s many performances because the character. He carved his soak up stone and it’ll exist eternally, beloved boogeyman of my nightmares.

Craft one thing stunning so we will be scared by Freddy Krueger once more, and he can provide a complete new era nightmares.