To say that the 2010 reboot of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” was a letdown for fans of the classic slasher franchise is a bit of an understatement. Though the production value was great, the storyline drastically altered Freddy Krueger’s origin and took away all the campy fun that was a huge selling point of the franchise. And as is the Hollywood tradition, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. But for ‘Nightmare,’ they’re going to keep it on the backburner for now.
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In a new interview with Gamespot, writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who is currently on the publicity rounds thanks to his latest work “Aquaman,” opened up about his planned reboot of ‘Nightmare’ and why it’s not really on the top of New Line Cinema’s mind right now.
“It’s still happening. Nothing is percolating just yet,” Johnson-McGoldrick said. “’The Conjuring’ universe is sort of first and foremost on [New Line Cinema’s] horror burner.
Not that the studio can’t focus on more than one franchise at a time, but it’s obvious why New Line wants to keep its eye on the ‘Conjuring’ ball right now. The ghost/jump-scare franchise is doing better than ever with the first two films spawning two successful spin-off franchises, and a threequel coming sooner than later.
“Everybody wants to see Freddy again I think, so I think it’s inevitable at some point,” he added.
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With the recent success of “Halloween,” combined with the renewed interest in ‘80s and ‘90s slashers like “Child’s Play” and “Candyman,” it would be silly for New Line to keep Freddy Krueger on the sidelines forever. Clearly, something will happen eventually.
Hey, who knows? Maybe they’d be interested in reaching out to Jason Blum and giving him a go at the franchise?
The Johnson-McGoldrick-written ‘Conjuring 3’ is expected to hit theaters in September 2020.