Re-casting Freddy: It needed to be done

Freddy Krueger is an international horror icon. The Fedora, green and red sweater and razor bladed glove is forever etched in the hearts of horror fans around the world. It has been almost seven years since Freddy has been on the screen. Sixteen years since his last stand-alone movie, and nineteen years since his last true Springwood nightmare movie. Usually when Freddy comes back to the big screen for another round of dream hauntings, it is a time for celebration. This year for some it still is. But there is a large group of fans in the horror community that yell blasphemy at the thought of someone other than Robert England playing the role that he made famous.


While I know that it is difficult seeing someone other than England playing the role that he has been the face of for over a quarter century, a re-casting was needed to be done to continue the reign of terror of our favorite nightmare man. Robert England has played Krueger through eight theatrical films and has played him several more times in "Freddy's Nightmares" and in many other media appearances. But over the years, England has stated that he was ready to move on from the character and have someone else try their hand at wearing the glove. He had a very difficult time with the physicality of the role during the filming of "Freddy vs. Jason" and said that it would be the last time that he would play the role wearing the make-up.


That being said, in order for the franchise to continue, a new Freddy needed to be casted. If not, Freddy would be truly dead. No more Nightmare on Elm Street movies...EVER! Who would want that? And this isn't the first time that a famous role has been recast in a major franchise. Imagine if they refused to recast Dracula because Bela Lugosi was not going to do the role anymore? We would have never had Christopher Lee's amazing performances. Imagine if the Bond Series ended after Sean Connery left the role? We would have lost several decades of Bond movies. And imagine if the Batman series didn't get into recasting the lead role? No "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight"!!!


Recasting Freddy had to be done. And I am glad that it did. Now we will have many more "Nightmare on Elm Street" sequels to look forward to, and the residents of Springwood will have many more sleepless nights.