New Line Finds Its Freddy Krueger!

Jackie Earle Haley is moving to Elm Street, signing to star as iconic killer Freddy Krueger in New Line and Platinum Dunes’ relaunch of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are producing with John Ricard co-producing. Samuel Bayer will direct from Wesley Strick’s script, with lensing set to begin next month in Chicago.

New Line decided last year to relaunch the movie series centered on the iconic killer, who haunts the dreams of teenagers and kills them in their sleep. Krueger was played by Robert Englund in the 1984 original, spawning nine films and two TV series in what was New Line’s most lucrative franchise until “The Lord of the Rings.”

The relaunch comes on the heels of New Line and Platinum Dunes’ rebirth of another horror franchise, “Friday the 13th,” which has grossed $65 million domestically since its launch on Friday, Feb. 13.

Haley starred in “Watchmen” as Rorshach and will next be seen alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Phoenix Pictures’ “Shutter Island,” directed by Martin Scorsese.

Thoughts:

Honestly, I still think Robert Englund will always be Freddy to me. The man was just simply perfect for the part and has played the character in 9 films. He knows what makes Freddy tick and loves to play this character. I do agree that hes getting alot older and replacing him is probably not that bad of an idea. Whats surprising is that his replacement is the actor who played Rorshach in Watchmen. While I don't think Jackie Earle Haley is the best actor in the world, he definitely looks like he could handle an evil being such as Freddy. I just pray and hope that New Line doesn't fuck this up. I didn't like the new Friday the 13th film, but it was a decent re-imagining of Jason. Freddy has always been my favorite horror icon and I hope they really stay true to the original Freddy films while bringing some fresh ideas to keep the horror franchise on a course to success.