Elijah Wood wants to give the world a nightmare, and it’s one specific frightening vision he’s looking to bring back into the world. As a producer of such recent genre efforts as Mandy and the soon to be released Daniel Isn’t Real, Wood and his producing partner Daniel Noah have Nightmare On Elm Street in mind as one of five horror projects they really want to get off the ground.
Wood admitted as much during a recent interview, as he explained the thought process, and the steps he and Noah have taken towards that project thus far. More specifically, Elijah Wood's business partner had this to say:
We have long fantasized having a crack at Nightmare on Elm Street. So has Adam Egypt Mortimer, who we just made Daniel Isn’t Real with. That film and Elm Street have somewhat obscure but still tangible similarities of dream worlds. As people have been seeing Daniel Isn’t Real, interestingly, there’s been a little movement on Twitter for Adam Mortimer to take over Nightmare on Elm Street. We’ve made no secret. We’ve been in touch with the rights holders many times. It’s a real dream project for us to have a chance to make a film in that franchise. And like I said, we have a very specific take on it. I think it would be very surprising and exciting to remake the franchise.
If you feel like there’s a little bit of déjà vu going through your mind right now, you’re absolutely correct, as A Nightmare on Elm Street had previously been remade by its home studio New Line Cinema, albeit in a manner that was widely considered to be a disaster. But instead of rehashing the original story, it sounds like Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah aren’t truly considering a new, or at the very least well defined, version of the Wes Craven franchise.
Elijah Wood himself has some horror remake experience, with his starring role in the 2012 remake of Maniac being a chief example of that credit. So this proposition to bring A Nightmare On Elm Street back yet again feels less like wanting to play around with a legendary property, and more like a fan bringing a fresh approach to an older idea.
Elijah Wood echoed his partner's remarks about A Nightmare On Elm Street later in the same interview with ComingSoon, confirms that very intent is at work, with a little bit of the wishful fan magic at work as well:
Yeah, and it definitely has that aspect of pie in the sky, of getting to play in a certain sandbox, you know? It’s a universe and a character and an idea that would be a fun sandbox to play in. It’s trying to do something different. With a lot of these classic horror films that have seen so many sequels, eventually it sort of plays itself out a little bit. It’s also interesting to think about what could we do with a franchise like that which reinvents itself or creates something that is playing with the tone and key of the franchise, but is doing it differently or taking it in a slightly new direction. It’s a fun way to think about those things.
Somewhat ahead of his time, Nightmare on Elm Street creator Wes Craven did just that when he rebooted his own franchise with Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, which took the world of Robert Englund’s Freddy Kruger and turned it into a meta look at the very films that gave him life. So this particular series is no stranger to being changed into something new and exciting in the name of survival.
With the rights to the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, as well as the Freddy Kruger character, recently reverted to Craven’s estate, there may be a chance that Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah might be able to pull off that remake just yet. Provided, of course, that the Craven estate are the group of rights holders they’ve already been speaking with.
One thing is for certain: if this movie is going to get off the ground, it should happen sooner than later. And Robert Englund should definitely be consulted, as he’s not only of the mind he has one last Nightmare left in him, but he’s got a pretty cool choice for who should succeed him if he isn’t the one to put on the infamous razor glove.
In the meantime, Daniel Isn’t Real, the film that Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah recently produced, will be headed to theaters, Digital HD, and VOD on December 6th. Though if you’re looking for some horror offerings leftover from the Halloween season, you’ll want to check out our 2019 release schedule, as well as our still fresh listing of horror films you can watch through various streaming providers.
