Mike Flanagan Pitches Idea for New Nightmare on Elm Street Movie

Mike Flanagan, the mastermind behind The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, has teased a proposal for a new A Nightmare on Elm Street film.

The original movie, which premiered in 1984, is hailed as one of the best horror films ever. It gave birth to a franchise of the same name, consisting of eight spine-tingling sequels released between 1985 and 2003.

However, the franchise’s attempted resurrection in 2010 by director Samuel Bayer proved to be a disaster at the box office. 

The series has since been dormant, waiting to be awakened again by a worthy creator.

On the Script Apart podcast, Flanagan pitches his iteration of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Flanagan reveals that the idea has been lurking in his head for many years, but getting the necessary rights for the franchise is treacherous.

He also reveals that his agent was lost about whom to contact when he first mentioned the idea of remaking the legendary movie. Read his comments below:

One of the [franchises] on my list forever has been A Nightmare on Elm Street. Boy, that would be fun [laughs]. I have a whole take for it that I worked out a couple of years ago, and my understanding is the rights situation for that title is so fraught, no one knows who controls it really, and no one knows who to pitch. So, I keep saying to my agents, ‘Send me in on Nightmare on Elm Street,’ and they’re like, ‘We’d love to, [but] we have no idea who you should talk to.’ And I’ve talked to — I spent almost a year of my life with [A Nightmare on Elm Street star] Heather Langenkamp, and we would talk about it. It’s like, nobody knows what to do.

Mike Flanagan

From its inception, the Nightmare on Elm Street series has witnessed a diverse array of artists infuse their interpretations of the classic horror film.

Jack Sholder’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge made an unforgettable mark in the LGBTQ+ community because of the homoerotic undertones in the screenplay.

Meanwhile, Renny Harlin delved headfirst into the realm of special effects to craft A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.

However, current efforts to depict the notorious Freddy Krueger have been rather inconsistent.

The franchise returned to its origins with the 1994 sequel New Nightmare by Wes Cavern, whereas Ronny Yu’s Freddy vs. Jason gave the gloved murderer an MTV-inspired polished look.

Meanwhile, people criticized Samuel Bayer’s take on Nightmare on Elm Street for its inability to recreate the original’s empathy and for being too focused on the story’s darker aspects.

Flanagan’s horror style, which emphasizes atmospheric horror over jump scares, could bring a fresh perspective to the franchise.

The director has demonstrated an ability to create psychological scares and spine-chilling visuals in his previous works, such as the Haunting anthology and Midnight Mass.

While no definite plans exist for a reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Flanagan’s interest could potentially resurrect the franchise.

About A Nightmare on Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye.

It is the first installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, and Johnny Depp in his film debut.

In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.