A Stranger Things Star Boasted About Working With Both A Nightmare On Elm Street 3's Director And Co-Writer, And I Think It's The Perfect Team To Reboot Freddy Krueger

Conversations about rebooting the Elm Street franchise have been plentiful over the years, both before and after the lackluster 2010 effort, with Elijah Wood voicing interest, and fellow horror mastermind Mike Flanagan also having pitched ideas. None of those went very far, for reasons, but now my desire for a new Freddy Krueger has been rekindled by a most villainous Stranger Things familiar.

Jamie Campbell Bower, who brought Stranger Things’ big bad Vecna to life in Season 4, is definitely set to return in upcoming Season 5 episodes, but is currently promoting his latest genre release, a remake of the 1986 supernatural horror Witchboard. Having hit the 2025 release schedule on August 15, the updated occult flick was directed by Chuck Russell, who also happened to direct one of the most beloved slasher sequels of all time, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.

Speaking with CBR, Bower agreed to the notion that he would definitely return for another Witchboard movie if the opportunity arose, and then gave props to the director and more, saying:

For those who may not remember, The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption writer/director Frank Darabont returned from his behind-the-camera hiatus to helm two episodes of Stranger Things' final season, which will no doubt combine for a runtime longer than that of the average slasher movie. Oh yeah, Darabont also happens to be the guy who co-wrote A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors with Russell, Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner.

So like, is it just me, or do the stars seem to be aligning for a perfect team-up to finally prove that Freddy Krueger's legacy can continue without Robert Englund in the role? Chuck Russell is obviously still bringing his talents to the big screen, and the fact that Frank Darabont returned to directorial work for Stranger Things is possibly a sign that his creative juices are skewing bloody again.

Bower even used the words "absolute dream" to describe it! I mean, come on! It's not a perfect 1:1, but if the actor referred to the experience as a "nightmare," I don't think it would have better helped my argument.

I Hadn't Considered Jamie Campbell Bower For Freddy Krueger Before, But...I'm All In

My argument here could have easily just focused on Russell and Darabont reuniting for another Nightmare movie, given they also teamed up on 1988's The Blob remake, which is proof that they can succeed together with preexisting material. But the more I started thinking about Jamie Campbell Bower as a potential Freddy, I found no reasons to argue against it.

I'm admittedly not familiar with the entirety of Bower's filmography, so I guess it's possible he's played a role that would indicate he'd be a terrible Freddy, but I doubt it. He's certainly excelled at playing haunting creepsters as of late, as seen in Kevin Costner's western epic Horizon: An American Saga, where his villainous Caleb Sykes easily held the screen opposite Costner with his baritone rasp and his piercing eyes. Not quite a Freddy laugh with that guy, but it's understandable.

Regardless of other roles, Stranger Things' Henry Creel (or One or Vecna) is obviously the most overwhelming piece of evidence that Bower would rock out as Freddy. Henry is an unnerving monster both in human form and in Upside Down-monster form, with the latter proving how well he already act beneath a ton of makeup and prosthetics, which is vital.

Also, I mean, it's not for nothing that Henry Creel's father Victor was portrayed in Season 4 by — [checks notes] — ROBERT ENGLUND. Passing the torch is kind of already in the two actors' fictional bloodline. In my head, Englund and Bower spent hours before and after filming episoes shooting the shit about all things Nightmare on Elm Street, and that Bower wrote everything down, and has been dreaming of playing Freddy all of his life. And no, this isn't just me living vicariou...okay, you got me.

To clarify, if someone was able to make Englund immortal, free from bodily aches, and just generally willing to return to the role in the meantime, I'd still prefer him, because of course. But which dream deity to I need to reach out to and threaten in order to get the metaphorical wheels turning on a new Elm Street movie with Bower as the burned-up child killer?

If anyone does know, send me the name of that deity, and I'll also throw in an extra wish for Heather Langenkamp to want a Dream Warriors reunion with Russell and Darabont, without having to play either Nancy or herself.

While waiting for someone to put my wishes into action, Witchboard is currently in theaters, while Stranger Things Season 5 Part 1 will be available to stream via Netflix subscription on Thursday, November 27.