It’s interesting to wonder about who exactly might take up the signature fedora and knife-fingered glove of Freddy Krueger within the larger Nightmare on Elm Street universe.
But if an accomplished horror director had his way, the series would cast none other than Jim Carrey to portray the iconic cackling serial killer, bringing a “bold new direction” to the Nightmare on Elm Street’s long-spanning canon.
Speaking on a recent episode of Dread Central’s Development Hell podcast, director Chuck Russell spoke about his views of the franchise almost 40 years after directing and co-writing 1987’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
Though he tipped his hat to former Freddy actor Robert Englund, Russell also mentioned that he’d be interested to see what exactly 63-year-old Jim Carrey could bring to the role after their previous collaboration on 1994’s The Mask.
Above all else, Russell said he had enough confidence in Carrey’s ability to disappear into any role he set his mind to, even if that meant channeling a character as altogether terrifying as Freddy Krueger.
“Jim, in my opinion, could almost do anything if he put his heart into it,” Russell said on the podcast.
However, Russell also quickly added that, in order to even consider casting Carrey in the role, the series would have to create a more unique sequel, reminiscent of Wes Craven’s New Nightmare.
“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,” Russell said. “I think Jim would only consider it, and I’d only consider harnessing Jim, if there was a bold new direction for Elm Street.”
Of course, the last time audiences saw Freddy Krueger came with 2010’s ill-fated remake, A Nightmare on Elm Street. At the time, the character was played by Watchmen alumnus Jackie Earle Haley.
Sadly, there has yet to be another entry in the series to date.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.