Following horror legend Robert Englund's suggestion that actor Kevin Bacon should take over as Freddy Kreuger in a new installment of A Nightmare on Elm Street, the legendary Footloose star responds.
While promoting his new movie One Way, Bacon spoke to Screen Rant about his thoughts on Englund's casting choice which he suggested at Monster-Mania Con in 2019. Known for playing sinister villain roles in Sleepers, The River Wild, and X-Men: First Class, Bacon teased taking up the famous bladed glove. "Never say never," Bacon said. "I mean, I say, 'Never say never,' but I really do follow that. There's very few things that I go, 'Nah, nah.' You just never know."
Bacon appears to be a natural choice to be Englund's successor as the Golden Globe-nominated actor is no stranger to the horror and thriller movie genres. He got his early start as a teenage victim of Pamela Voorhees in the original Friday the 13th in 1980. Then Bacon earned cult status as a Nevada handyman battling prehistoric worm monsters in 1990's Tremors and reprised the role in an unsold television pilot. Other horror roles from Bacon include Stir of Echoes, Jon Watts' Cop Car, and You Should Have Left, and he will soon be seen as the villain in The Toxic Avenger reboot.
Robert Englund Is Freddy No More
Englund originated the Freddy Kreuger role in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984 under the direction of the late Wes Craven. He was conceived as a serial killer in Springwood, OH, who preyed on children, took them to his boiler room and used his bladed glove on the victims. When the parents of the victims took a stand and burned him alive, Freddy took the form of an evil spirit who attacked and killed teenagers in their dreams. Critics were surprised at how polished Craven's direction was and the film was a massive success earning $57 million on a $1.1 million budget.
The Nightmare franchise grew increasingly popular over time with Englund reprising Freddy in six sequels from 1985 to 1994. Additionally, he starred as Freddy in the syndicated horror anthology series Freddy's Nightmares in 1988. Englund's last Freddy appearance was in 2003's Freddy vs. Jason, where he faced off again the immortal Crystal Lake murderer Jason Voorhees. Englund officially announced his retirement from the Freddy Krueger role in 2017.
"I'm too old to do another Freddy now. If I do a fight scene now it's got to be real minimal because I can't snap my head for eight different takes and different angles. My spine gets sore," Englund said. "I can still be mean and scary, but I'm mostly relegated now to sort of Van Helsing roles, old doctors and shit. So it's fun that the last moment of me ever playing Freddy is a wink to the audience."
Source: Screen Rant