BREAKING: Freddy Krueger is finally coming home.
Dread Central learned this morning that Paramount has officially closed a deal for the U.S. rights to develop a brand-new film set in the world of A Nightmare on Elm Street, marking the franchise’s first major step forward in years.
The project will be developed under Paramount’s new genre label, Paramount Primal, headed by producers J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, the team behind recent genre hits including Weapons, Barbarian, Companion, and Friendship.
The U.S. rights have been licensed from the Wes Craven estate, with Iya Labunka, Jonathan Craven, and Marc Toberoff producing the new film. Lifshitz and Margules will serve as executive producers.
While Paramount is keeping story details under wraps, the studio confirmed that the untitled project is now a priority development and will be set within the world of A Nightmare on Elm Street, drawing from Wes Craven’s original screenplay.
“We look forward to bringing the world of Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street to a new and completely engaged generation of fans,” said Iya Labunka. “We know that Wes would have been thrilled to see how horror is taking its long overdue place in the cultural canon. We can’t wait for all of us to sit together in a dark theatre—around the campfire of today—as the next chapter of the Nightmare story unfolds.”
Lifshitz and Margules added, “We can’t remember a time before we were fans of Wes Craven. The fact that Iya and Jonathan have entrusted us with this opportunity to help usher a new story into this world is an honor beyond words. We look forward to working alongside them to bring a terrifying new nightmare to audiences everywhere—and to welcome Freddy home.”
The announcement also officially unveils Paramount Primal, the studio’s new genre-focused production label. Launched earlier this year, the banner will develop smartly budgeted horror, action, comedy, and grounded science fiction films with both emerging and established filmmakers.
It’s been more than a decade since Freddy Krueger last stalked moviegoers in 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, and fans have been waiting ever since for the dream demon’s return. It’s still far too early to know exactly what this new chapter will look like—or whether Freddy himself will even appear—but we’ll let you know as soon as we find out.
Categorized:News
