The Original Freddy Krueger Still Wants A Prequel To ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’

There are a great number of horror movies which have been given the remake or reboot treatment over the years with only a handful of them being done well. One of those was A Nightmare on Elm Street which wasn’t met with the best reception and it kind of deflated the balloon on any others taking off. Still, there is always the possibility that a prequel could be done and Robert Englund, the original Freddy Krueger himself, wants to see it done.

When looking at some of the horror movie names that stand out to all of us, there are a few which just roll off the tongue. Michael Myers. Jason Voorhees. Leatherface. Of course, Freddy Krueger needs to be included in that group as he made his debut back in 1984 and has had people frightened to go to sleep ever since.

Everyone knows that Freddy Krueger comes to us in our dreams and can actually kill us in the real world by tormenting us as we sleep. But, how did he get there in the first place? How did Freddy Krueger come to exist?

The backstory of the nightmarish man with “knives for fingers” is something that the movie franchise has mentioned occasionally, but it’s never been given a lot of time. Robert Englund has spoken and he believes it should.

Englund recently had a Q&A session at “Monster Mania 41” in Maryland where he spoke on a number of topics from his career. The video was provided by a YouTube user named Cliff Images, and it’s great just listening to Englund discuss his history with the character of Krueger.

When the idea of having a true prequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street was brought up, Englund revealed just how much he wishes it would have happened. As transcribed by Bloody-Disgusting, he even gave details of how they were working on one and tried to get it done.

“I’ve always thought that [not having a prequel] is a misruling in the mythology of A Nightmare on Elm Street. It got close to being rectified with Tobe Hooper’s pilot for the TV series (Freddy’s Nightmares), and there was a script that was supposed to be directed by John McNaughton, who did Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. There was a prequel script… I think it was called ‘Krueger: The First Kills.’ And it was… the last children being killed… the two detectives that found Freddy and busted him… then the body of the film was the ambulance-chasing, sleazy lawyers that get Freddy off.”

Robert Englund continued on to say that it would have Freddy going through the whole judicial process, but he gets too cocky for his own good. The lawyers get him off on the charges, and things take an ugly turn from there.

“They get him off and Freddy gloats too much on the courtroom stairs. The end of the movie is Freddy being burned alive. I’ve had a fascination with these projects since I did the pilot with Tobe Hooper.”

In recent years, Robert Englund has said that he wouldn’t take on the role of Freddy Krueger again, and he had a good reason for it. He simply said he was too old (he’s 71), and that it simply wouldn’t make sense for him to take on the part again.

Recently, Englund did don the make-up, razor glove, and iconic sweater to play Freddy Krueger on an episode of The Goldbergs. When it comes to a prequel, though, he knows that at his age, it wouldn’t make sense for him to be Freddy, but he’s not against appearing in it.

“I would love to cameo in anything with integrity, connected with the franchise.”

The idea of a prequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street really makes sense on so many levels. It’s never truly been done and would draw in fans, both new and old. With newer fans being introduced to the character of Freddy Krueger, it would lead them to check out all the other films in the franchise which have already been released. Without even trying, Robert Englund could see Freddy brought back to life once again.