Paramount Is Reviving ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ Using Wes Craven’s Original Script
Welcome back to prime time, b—h! Freddy is returning for a new nightmare thanks to Paramount Pictures. The studio acquiring Warner Bros. is dreaming up a resurrection of the ’80s’ most iconic razor-gloved killer, bringing A Nightmare on Elm Street back to haunt the dreams of a whole new generation.
Through its Paramount Primal banner, the creative home of David Ellison and Taylor Sheridan has big plans for the legendary franchise originally launched by horror auteur Wes Craven. Paramount has acquired the U.S. rights to Craven’s original Nightmare script from his estate, using it as the foundation for a reboot.
The new label and its grand undertaking are led by JD Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, the producers behind Zach Cregger’s Barbarian. For the Elm Street project, they are joined by Craven’s widow, Iya Labunka, and his son, Jonathan, as well as former copyright lawyer-turned-producer Marc Toberoff.
“We can’t remember a time before we were fans of Wes Craven. The fact that Iya and Jonathan have entrusted us with this opportunity to help usher a new story into this world is an honour beyond words. We look forward to working alongside them to bring a terrifying new nightmare to audiences everywhere, and to welcome Freddy home,” said Lifshitz and Margules.
“We look forward to bringing the world of Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street to a new and completely engaged generation of fans,” added Labunka. “We know that Wes would have been thrilled to see how horror is taking its long overdue place in the cultural canon. We can’t wait for all of us to sit together in a dark theatre – around the campfire of today – as the next chapter of the Nightmare story unfolds.”
Until recently, the rights to Nightmare rested with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. New Line (The House That Freddy Built) retains the international rights, but the Craven estate won back the US rights to the late director’s screenplay in 2019 through Toberoff’s efforts.
The estate sat on those rights for years, waiting for the right moment. Considering the lingering negative reception to the 2010 remake, it’s easy to see why. Fans may secretly yearn to “never sleep again,” but it was smart for anyone with a stake in the property to exercise caution.
At one time, producers had no such worries and could keep Freddy stalking and slashing as much as the public could tolerate. The franchise was a merchandising machine, Freddy Krueger and actor Robert Englund were pop-culture icons, and the movies were the highest-grossing independent films of their era.
Unfortunately for the dream demon, time wasn’t kind to his relevance, and legal red tape did far more damage than Jason ever managed in their matchup. Maybe his luck will change, and Springwood will dare to dream again, but Paramount’s reboot is still in the early stages where anything can happen — no matter how excited the parties involved might be.
All we know thus far about the story is that it’s “set in the world of A Nightmare on Elm Street, based on the original screenplay.” No further details have been confirmed.
