Jason Blum Talks Nightmare on Elm Street and Robert Englund

We’ve seen the beloved slasher revivals of properties like Halloween, Scream, Candyman, and hopefully one day, Wes Craven’s influential 80’s horror title, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Though there have been discussions surrounding the rights and rumors regarding series, films, and more, we’ve yet to obtain anything concrete enough to really appease our Freddy Krueger love in over a decade. Despite this, if Blumhouse head Jason Blum has things pan out his own ideal way, we’d receive yet another legacy horror gift like no other.

In a recent conversation with Screen Rant, Blum expressed his own desires, accompanied by some rather undeniable confidence after his recent sequel to The Exorcist. Blum tells the publication, “I could make him come back,” in reference to reenlisting the help of long-time Freddy star Robert Englund, before adding, “I could get anyone back. I mean, Ellen Burstyn was 87; I got her back in [the upcoming sequel to] The Exorcist.” The avid-horror producer and mastermind made sure to acknowledge his age in response, noting, “75… he’s young.”

Knowing that Blumhouse is successfully tackling horror franchise properties like Halloween or Happy Death Day and even stand-alone horror stories like The Black Phone, there’s no doubt that the company remains an excellent home for genre staples. Because of the growing admiration for legacy characters in slasher titles like the aforementioned Scream and Halloween, it also feels like a grand opportunity to tap into that nostalgia from horror fans of all ages.

Though Blum might have his work cut out for him because Englund, who adores the role, has gone back and forth on his interest in reprising the character of Freddy. However, in 2020, Englund had seemingly given up on the prospect, telling Comic Book, “I’m not gonna lose any sleep over not being Freddy anymore because I’m just too old for the part. I couldn’t face the makeup for six weeks or eight weeks. I couldn’t do the stunts. I’m just getting older now. They’re gonna need a new actor to play it. And, again, even more than the new actor to play Freddy, I just think that they need to really explore all the new technology for really ramping up the nightmare sequences using all the new technology that they have at their disposal for effects.”

Due to Blum’s confidence and Englund’s undying love for Freddy, does anyone else feel like there’s possibly something to work with there?