Alongside actresses like Jenna Ortega, Aussie actress Samara Weaving (“Ready or Not,” “The Babysitter,” franchise, “Scream VI”) is one of the modern scream queens. And it doesn’t hurt that the horror genre is as popular as ever, making these actresses increasingly popular for making scary pics. Now, Weaving wants a shot at tackling the iconic supernatural slasher character Freddy Kruger. The actress told Collider at SXSW she wants to be part of the next incarnation of the “A Nightmare On Elm Street” franchise.
” I can do it. Unless Billie Eilish gets it now,” the actress said, being cheeky and alluding to the fact that the two-time Oscar-winning singer originally was wanted for Weaving’s upcoming horror movie “Azrael.”
If you’re not familiar with the satirical horror pic, Freddy Kruger is burned alive by a group of parents and years later comes back from the dead, haunting the dreams of his killers’ children and allowing him to kill them one by one in inventive ways within a dreamscape universe. The film primarily relied on extensive visual effects compared to Kruger’s slasher peers like “Friday The 13th” killer Jason Vorhees or Michael Myers from “Halloween,” who mostly used weapons and brute strength. “A Nightmare On Elm Street” was sort of the prototype for the “Scream” movies as it attempted to take more of a meta/comedic take on the slasher genre.
The original Wes Craven film debuted in 1984 and is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024. There currently aren’t any exact plans for a new movie, but director Mike Flanagan (“Doctor Sleep”) has mentioned an interest while appearing on the Script Apart podcast, and ‘Elm Street’ franchise star Heather Langenkamp has expressed a desire to return while speaking with ET.
Given the resurrection of “Halloween” with the Blumhouse trilogy from filmmaker David Gordon Green and A24 producing the new “Friday The 13th” prequel series, “Camp Crystal Lake,” classic horror seems to be on the return. A revival or legacy sequel wouldn’t be that hard to imagine, as there hasn’t been a feature film since the lackluster reboot from 2010.