‘Let’s go for it’: Robert Englund eyes animated A Nightmare on Elm Street return

Robert Englund would love to reprise his role as ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ villain in an animated picture in the long-running horror franchise.

Robert Englund wants to return to the ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ series for an animated movie.

The 77-year-old actor starred as the dreaded Freddy Krueger in the horror franchise from the 1984 original until the 2003 spin-off ‘Freddy vs. Jason’, though has now revealed he would happily reprise his role as the terrifying killer in an R-rated animated flick.

When ComicBook.com pitched Englund the idea, he said: “Let’s go for it. We’ll have lunch!

“No, that’s a great idea. Well, you know, Freddy’s made appearances in some sophisticated games, but I’m thinking that would be a great idea. A nice, dark, animated ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’.”

The Hollywood star then suggested a “retro” Freddy Krueger prequel set in the 1970s that would follow the killer before he terrorised young children in their dreams.

He said: “I would almost like to see a prequel to ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, where we see Freddy go to jail, go to court, courtroom drama, he gets off.

“The lawyers could be really interesting characters. They could be really sleazy, what’s it called, ambulance chasers? And get some good character actors to play the lawyers. Freddy gets off, he gloats on the courthouse steps. He’s not Freddy yet, he’s not burned yet, he’s whoever that person is.

“We get more insight into him and his wife and child, and what kind of a twisted soul he is. And make it a little retro, set it maybe late 70s, or mid-70s, in kind of a suburban world where there’s a sleazy disco around the corner or something.”

While Englund loves the idea of making a return to the franchise, his co-star Heather Langenkamp, 60, doubts whether the series could exist today due to the presence of social media.

She explained: “I almost think it’s impossible to have a scary character with social media.

“By the time you’ve already put out the scary side, there’s like a hundred memes of you being ridiculous, and they’ve figured out a way to humiliate you, so I don’t even know if Freddy could exist today.”