Key Insights

• Current Rights: The rights to A Nightmare on Elm Street are currently held by Wes Craven’s estate, leaving its future uncertain.
• Freddy Krueger’s Future: Robert Englund is considered too old to reprise his role as Freddy Krueger, leading to speculation about the character’s next portrayal.
• Jim Carrey's Potential Role: Director Chuck Russell believes Jim Carrey could be an ideal choice for Freddy, given the right direction.
• Pressure on New Actors: Any actor stepping into the role of Freddy Krueger will face immense pressure to meet fan expectations.

At this point, the rights to A Nightmare on Elm Street lie with Wes Craven’s estate, so there’s really no telling what will happen with it. And the same goes for Freddy Krueger, whose own future remains unclear now that Robert Englund is officially too much of an “old dog” for the part. But if Dream Warriors director ever gets his way, he has the perfect idea for who could step into the part: Jim Carrey…

Jim Carrey isn’t exactly known for horror (we saw how that went with The Number 23…), but Russell sees it a different way that would make him an ideal Freddy. As he told Dread Central, “Jim, in my opinion, could almost do anything if he put his heart into it. For Jim to do it, we’d have to do something that was another leap in the Elm Street series — a little bit like what Wes did with his very meta New Nightmare. I think Jim would only consider it, and I’d only consider harnessing Jim, if there was a bold new direction for Elm Street.”

I respect Jim Carrey plenty for his role in comedy (especially in the ‘90s), but taking on a part like Freddy Krueger is a pretty absurd idea. Besides, Carrey seems a little too focused on Sonic movies to don the clawed gloves. But hey, if we want him as a sicko burn victim, let’s get a Fire Marshall Bill movie going!

In the past, Englund himself gave his blessing to Kevin Bacon, an admirer of the genre who has stepped into it plenty of times, even of course sticking a memorable role in 1980’s Friday the 13th, years before A Nightmare on Elm Street was released. Whoever may take over Freddy Krueger (if anybody) has a lot of pressure and a monumental task to live up to, something that it never really seems like Jackie Earle Haley ever recovered from…

What do you think of Chuck Russell’s dream casting of Jim Carrey as Freddy Krueger? Could it have ever worked? Chime in in the comments section below!