Happy Birthday THE DREAM MASTER! Let’s Talk Englund’s Multiple Freddy Pitch
I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite entries in the Nightmare on Elm Street series (if not my number one favorite) is Renny Harlan’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master starring Lisa Wilcox, Tuesday Knight, Brooke Theiss, Rodney Eastman, and Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger.
The killer fourth entry, which Englund once referred to as “The MTV version of Freddy”, was released in theaters nationwide on this date way back in 1988, thus making today the film’s official 30th Anniversary. Happy Dirty 30, Dream Master!
A while back now we passed along a cool story in which Robert Englund told the world on a panel for Eli Roth’s History of Horror at the 2018 Summer Television Critics Association press tour that he had an all-new – and badass – idea for another journey into A Nightmare on Elm Street. And what better time than the 30th Anniversary of one of the series’ best entries than to talk a bit more about this pitch and another entry in the franchise?
Englund’s pitch basically said that he would return as the Springwood Slasher if the role of Freddy was played by multiple actors throughout the film – with the final reveal being that it has been Robert Englund’s Freddy Kruger under all these “masks” the entire time.
For specifics regarding Englund’s idea, here’s a direct quote: “If I had an Eli Roth budget I would have cast different actors to play Freddy for every potential victim,” Englund said. “Because Freddy is only alive in the imagination of his future victim. They would talk about it at a slumber party or in a locker room at school, or on the bus going home. All we know about this Fred Krueger is he wears a hat, wears a red and green striped sweater and has a clawed hand. That’s the specifics. So it could be a red and green cardigan for one Freddy. It could be an old tattered baseball cap for another Freddy. Freddy could be tall, he could be short, he could be overweight, he could be muscular. Every one of the victims could have a different Freddy they imagined. And you could haunt them with that Freddy.”
He then lays the epic cherry on top of this stellar idea saying, “And then at the end, it would be the ultimate victim and we see Freddy peel [his face] open and maybe it’s yours truly revealed. And it’s the essence of Freddy.”
Like I said back in the original news article that we posted on this story back in July, personally, I think this is the best pitch for a new Nightmare film that I’ve ever heard. I mean if we are faced with the lack of a Robert Englund Freddy in a new A Nightmare on Elm Street film, I think this is the best way to go. Especially considering we’d all know it was (in the reality of the movie) Englund’s Freddy pulling the strings all along.
So with all human beings in agreement, this is the most stellar sequel idea since T2: Judgment Day, how about we dig a bit deeper into the idea and really sell it to the one guy out there that thinks it’s a bad idea. First, how would these new Freddy’s be presented? In the above quote, Englund pitched that the different Freddy’s would all look different saying, “…it could be a red and green cardigan for one Freddy. It could be an old tattered baseball cap for another Freddy. Freddy could be tall, he could be short, he could be overweight, he could be muscular. Every one of the victims could have a different Freddy they imagined.”
That could work. But I like the idea of keeping the Freddy we know and love intact. At least as a silhouette. This means all the Freddy’s should keep the razor glove. All the Freddy’s should keep the sweater. The Fedora. The Burns. This does not limit the creativity of the new film – it adds to it. After all, have you seen all the killer cosplay Freddy’s out there?
Most of them are “Sexy Freddy’s”, but all the same, keep searching and you’ll find Freddy’s from all walks of life. And that’s just what this franchise needs for a reboot: New Blood. So this brings up the question: If the powers that be somehow grace us all with the coolest movie ever, which actors would we love to see play some of the different incarnations of Freddy?
We could go with big names such as Tom Hardy, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chris Pratt and Robert Downy Jr. (who would literally kill it as Freddy). But what about actors such as … wait for it … Heather Langenkamp? How about Lisa Wilcox? Interesting, huh? Maybe they could even convince Johnny Depp to play Freddy for a small scene – as Glenn. And Jackie Earle Haley for sure. Hell, what about Kane Hodder? All of this sounds just too good to me.
I don’t think Robert Englund’s Multiple Freddy’s pitch needs all these actors to make it sing (please God let this become some sort of fanboy collection, don’t get me wrong). But just seeing Freddy presented as different versions, sans big names under the makeup, is just too good a pitch to pass up; think Girl Freddy, Black Freddy, Young Freddy, Old Freddy. The list goes on and on. And as much as we all love and honor Englund as Freddy, I think we can also all agree that it’s about time someone else stepped into the role – if even for a scene or two.
***
What do YOU think? Make sure to hit us up and let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
Categorized:Editorials News
