Elm Street (film)

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***Elm Street*** is an upcoming American low-budget slasher film, co-written and directed by James Wan and starring Kevin Bacon. The film is a remake of Wes Craven's 1984 film *A Nightmare on Elm Street* and the second reboot of the *Nightmare on Elm Street* franchise following the 2010 film. It is set in a fictitious town of Ohio and centers around a group of teenagers living on one street who are stalked and murdered in their dreams by a disfigured man named Freddy Krueger. The teenagers discover that they all share a common link from their childhood that makes them targets for Krueger.

The film is scheduled to be released on October 27, 2023, and is planned to be the first installment of the SlasherVerse. It will be followed by the films *Crystal Lake*, *Sleepaway Camp* and the crossover film *A Nightmare at Crystal Lake: Freddy vs. Jason*.

## Synopsis

*"In the late 1960s in Ohio, a school janitor accused of child molestation and imprisoning his own daughter in his basement escapes prison just before his trial but is targeted by a mob of outraged parents who corner and set the man ablaze, killing him for his crimes. Nearly 20 years later, a group of teenagers living on Elm Street begin suffering the same nightmares of a disfigured man named Freddy Krueger. The teenagers soon discover that they all share a common link from their childhood that makes them targets for Krueger."*

## Cast

* Kevin Bacon as Freddy Krueger
* Suki Waterhouse as Nancy Thompson
* Ezra Miller as Glen Lantz
* Sam Worthington as Lt. Donald Thompson
* Elizabeth Banks as Marge Thompson
* Chloë Grace Moretz as Tina Gray
* Ansel Elgort as Rod Lane

## Production

### Development

Raydon Entertainment have been developing a *Nightmare on Elm Street* film since 2012 with a scriptment titled *Elm Street*. Heavily inspired by the 2010 reboot, the film would have been a remake of the original, with Freddy being a child molester and would have a much shorter runtime, approximately 45 minutes. Without the rights to the character, Raydon briefly considered producing the short film as a non-profit fan film but eventually abandoned the project to focus on the Cascade Comics Cinematic Universe, which was preparing to release its first crossover film *The Justice Fighters Unite* that same year.

In September 2019, Bloody Disgusting reported that the film rights to *A Nightmare on Elm Street* had reverted to Wes Craven's estate. The site also revealed in November that the estate had begun work on resurrecting Freddy, as they were actively taking pitches for a new *Nightmare on Elm Street* entry. They were reportedly looking for both feature film pitches and concepts for a possible HBO Max series.

By November 2019, Brandon Barker had begun work on a script for Moonlight Pictures entitled *A Nightmare on Elm Street* that combined the original 1984 storyline with elements from the 2010 reboot as well as story inspiration from the real life case of Josef Fritzl. Later that month, *Doctor Sleep* director Mike Flanagan tweeted that he had his own pitch for a new movie. Flanagan was approached by Raydon producers in March 2020 and one month later he had signed on to co-write and direct the film based on the Barker draft. Production on the film was expected to begin in late 2020 but was pushed indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, although Barker and Flanagan were collaborating on a new script as of May 2020.

In August 2020, Mike Flanagan announced via Twitter that he would be leaving the project over creative differences saying, "I have [the most] respect for the guys over there but at the end of the day we want[ed] to make different movies." Moonlight Pictures responded by saying they were still in active development on the project and would be seeking a new director immediately while also sending their best wishes to Flanagan. As of March 2021, no further updates on the film had been made.

The film seemed doomed to enter developmental hell until Raydon Entertainment revived the project in May 2021, announcing the film as part of a SlasherVerse alongside the films *Crystal Lake* and *Sleepaway Camp* and moving the project from Moonlight Pictures to the flagship Raydon Studios with The Wes Craven Estate also joining the production. The film, now simply titled *Elm Street*, would be written and produced by Brandon Barker with James Wan, John R. Leonetti and Michael Dougherty being considered to direct. In June 2021, the film moved to Raydon's newly-founded horror label Gravitas Studios and is expected to be the studio's second release following *Mystery Incorporated*.

By September 2021, James Wan had signed on to direct the film and would be contributing to the final draft of the script as well. The same day, John R. Leonetti was announced to be the director of *Crystal Lake* while the studio chose not to work with Michael Dougherty on any project. Wan turned in his draft of *Elm Street* in late-November 2021 and a final draft was completed by March 2022.

### Casting

On August 22, 2021, Suki Waterhouse was cast in an undisclosed role, revealed in April 2022 as Nancy Thompson. On October 12, 2021, Elizabeth Banks and Chloë Grace Moretz joined the cast. On April 15, 2022, Kevin Bacon was cast as Freddy Krueger with additional cast members Sam Worthington, Ezra Millerand Ansel Elgort being announced as well.

### Filming

Principal photography is scheduled to begin on-location in Ohio in August 2022.

## Release

*Elm Street* is currently scheduled to be released on October 27, 2023. The film will be released in the United States by Raydon Studios Motion Pictures and internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures.

## Future

*Elm Street* is intended to be the first film in a new shared universe and will be followed by *Crystal Lake* and *Sleepaway Camp*. A crossover film entitled *A Nightmare at Crystal Lake: Freddy vs. Jason* is also in development.