A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3 Director Thinks Jim Carrey Could Play Freddy Krueger If Franchise Takes a ‘Bold New Direction’

When it comes to Freddy Krueger, most horror fans would agree that no one embodies the dream-chasing killer like Robert Englund. But A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors director Chuck Russell has an interesting and unconventional idea for who might take over the role if the series goes in a new direction… Jim Carrey.

Russell, who collaborated with Carrey in the 1994 classic The maskshared his thoughts during an interview with Dread Central, explaining that while Englund remains the definitive Freddy for him, Carrey has the talent to pull it off under the right circumstances.

“Jim, in my opinion, could do almost anything if he put his heart into it. To do that, we would have to do something that represents another leap in the Elm Street series – kind of like what Wes did with his meta New Nightmare.

“I think Jim would consider it, and I would consider leveraging Jim, only if there was a bold new direction for Elm Street.”

Despite this interesting idea, Russell made it clear that his first choice will always be Englund.

“I still think Robert, for me, is the only Freddy. If I were involved in a new Elm Street, A, I would be happy about it, and B, my first goal would be to get Robert involved.”

Englund wore the infamous Fedora hat and bladed glove for the last time Freddy vs Jason in 2003, a crossover that contrasted the Via dell’Olmo icon against Friday 13thIt’s Jason Voorhees. A reboot followed in 2010 with Jackie Earle Haley stepping into the role, but the franchise has been dormant ever since.

Interestingly, Englund himself recently shared his thoughts on who might take over the character’s role, throwing out some unexpected names.

“I think for the sake of the franchise, they need to find someone like a Doug Jones. Years ago, I heard they were considering Kevin Bacon for Freddy Krueger.

“I was trying to think of someone like that, if they were going for a name, like Kevin Bacon. But I think they should probably go with someone more unknown who doesn’t have to worry about following in my footsteps or anything else, but just create their own conception of the character.”

So, while the future of A Nightmare on Elm Street remains uncertain, it’s fun to imagine what a twisted and shocking version of Freddy played by Jim Carrey might look like.

With Russell’s creative instincts and Carrey’s unbridled energy, that “bold new direction” could be the kind of nightmare some fans don’t want to wake up from.