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Jackie Earle Haley Is The New Freddy Krueger
When news broke ages ago that they were going to to a reboot/re-start/re-imagining of A Nightmare On Elm Street there were a lot of people up in arms over the fact that it was confirmed that Robert Englund wasn’t going to be returning as Freddy. Oh I can understand why some folks resist the idea of seeing anyone other than Englund wearing the bladed gloves… but it’s a remake. How can you make it a remake while sticking with the same cast?
One thing is for certain… whoever they end up getting to replace Englund will have a HUGE task in front of them. Luckily it appears they have indeed found someone who is up to the monumental task. Oscar nominated actor Jackie Earle Haley (most recently seen in Watchmen as Rorschach) is your new Freddy, and I have no hesitation telling you I think this is a magnificent move!
First of all, Haley is an exceptional talent, and you never go wrong recruiting talent. He’s also got that sot of twisted and evil swagger and look that I think Nightmare purists will accept as a new Freddy. There is simply no angle to this story that I see any negatives on. Brilliant choice!
Now, we can debate the merits of them even doing a Nightmare on Elmstreet remake in the first place… but that’s a totally different issue. I think MOST of us can agree that IF you’re going to do a new Nightmare movie and you’re going to get a new actor as Freddy… then Haley is a pretty damn good choice. (via ShockTillYouDrop)
Yeah, I for one cannot wait to see this now. JEH is an excellent choice for what I hear will be a much darker take on the character.
agreed
awesome.
im really hoping they go beyond the old flicks but idk with platinum dunes.
Brilliant choise? No.
A brilliant choise would be Robert Englund. Im usaly not mad when it comes to remakes, but this is like remaking Die Hard without Bruce Willis or Rocky without Sylvester Stallone.
I have alredy given this a 1 star on imdb and it will stay that way becaus i will never seee this film. Fuck this movie.
Hey Henrik,
Ok… sooooo… you’re saying that casting an Oscar nominated performer who is 5x a better actor than Robert Englund (don’t get me wrong, I love Englund, but Haley is in a different league) is a BAD move and means the movie will suck????
What kind of logic is that my man?
And that’s why IMDB ratings are totally useless. People are allowed to go on there and put in a score for a movie they’ve never seen.
have to agree with john….thats why i dont use imdb cause people like u just ruin it….i mean the movie hasnt come out and u are bashing it on a rating system
“this is like remaking Die Hard without Bruce Willis or Rocky without Sylvester Stallone”
A remake is creating a new movie with an idea from a previous movie, it is not a sequel which uses existing characters and plot to further a story. If they “remade” either Die Hard or Rocky the original actors would not be in them. But if they made a Rocky/Rambo “sequel” without Sly there would be some area for complaint.
A remake has no canon connection to the original films and does not need the original cast. Remakes should stand and fall on their own merit and not rely on the audience to have seen the previous incarnation(s) like many sequels do.
And you Henrik, is exactly what’s wrong with IMDB. Giving movies 1-star ratings and such, that you’ve never even seen, you just do it because you don’t like the idea of the movie.
I don’t really know which is worse, so I treat them equally bad with no bias:
A “bad” review to a film which hasn’t been made/released yet
(and)
A “great” review to a film which hasn’t been made/released yet.
BTW
The two examples you give Henrik? Both are formula pictures, and have inspired formula pictures. There is no need to remake either film, they just recycle the formula.
When “Die Hard” came out, Hollywood made a thousand Die Hards without Bruce Willis. They were never called Die Hard, of course, but the formula remained the same. That includes
Sudden Death w/ Jean Claude Van Damme and the Under Siege films w/ Steven Seagal, among countless others.
Underdog sports movies/living professional sports dream stories will likewise always be made, be it entirely fiction or based on truth, most recent films include the Goal movies and Invincible w/ Mark Wahlberg. (It’s a great film, one of his best)
Awesome indeed. I really enjoyed Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach in Watchmen, he definitely proved he could pull off the role of a psycho path.
I think he’ll make a fantastic Freddy. Who knows, he could do what Heath Ledger did for the Joker, turn Freddy into an amazing and unforgettable movie character.
He really was great as rorschach, i hated watchmen as a whole but i loved his character
When was he nominated and for what part? This actor has completely passed me by even though he starred in some of my favorite B movies in the 90’s.
Hey man,
He was the sex offender in “Little Children” back in 2006. He was beyond awesome in it.
Ah, never saw that.
refer to my reply below
This is quite excellent news. After his performance in Watchmen, I could think of no-one better.
God bless America!
Good lord, great casting choice but man…
A. After Friday the 13th and Halloween both went down in flames (quality, not box office), who thinks this will be a good idea?
B. More child abusing roles for Haley…poor guy’s gonna get type-cast. Rorschach vs. Freddy, there’s a movie I’d see!
.Jackie Earle Haley is the new freddy sweet but the dude is 5ft 5in i think. You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? One PROBLEM is the and this may be off topic but the director Samuel Bayer the man only directing MTV Music video. So hows the director supose to keep up with a great actor like Mr. Haley and the other teens that will be in this movie and direct them for 90mins.
You know what Ridley Scott and David Fincher only directed before their first films? Music videos and commercials.
Yeah, not to mention that Zach Snyder was doing commercials before he did Dawn of the Dead.
So RORSCHACH is the new Freddy Krueger? After his performance in Watchmen (that only thing I’ve seen him in lol), I can see Mr. Jackie Earle Harley donning the iconic fedora and gloves.
I mean, do you know what this could mean movie-wise? As if he weren’t brutal enough as a by-the-book vigilante, just IMAGINE how he’ll be as a child-murdering demon!! I’m officially intrigued by this remake!
Kudos to John for posting the good news.
I’m officially excited for this flick. Still not sure if it will be good, but Haley is a fucking awesome choice. Glad to see he’s had such a great comeback.
Cool. I just hope this guy can master the psychotically humorous side of Krueger as well as the murderer/rapist side. He looks good enough. As long as this thing is done with a good amount of storyline and real suspense. Rodney made a good point last time mentioning whether or not Freddy was really guilty of the crime when the parents killed him. It could make for a great plot twist.
i hope Jackie Earle Haley changes the voice of freddy, its kinda annoyin to hear, i hope they make freddy actually sound scary, like dont-want to-hear-in-the-alley scary
interesting choice
Jackie will be great! I hope they make it a seriously scary movie without the cheesyness of the later Nightmare movies.
Amazing he is just amazing, I’m so glad because I can REALLY see this
I only remembered this guy as Dukes in Semi-Pro. He can be funny.
Bad News Bears ring a bell? ANYONE? He was the older kid. Am I the only one?
That is what i said when i first saw Little Children. If my memory serves me correctly his name was Kelly and he was a total badass riding his dirtbike around the field. When i heard that they were making a Nightmare on elm st. remake he was one of the first people that i thought could actually pull it off. He has molesting experience.
This is what I call, perfect casting. I was excited about A Nightmare On Elm Street remake before, but this news has got me ecstatic. Jackie brought some much to the character of Rorschach, under a freaking mask, it’s only fitting to give him the role of the Sringwood Slasher as the guy has the ability to bring so much to the character and make it his own.
Jack look alike Vic over at ScreenRant must be over overjoyed with this casting.
It really doesn’t matter if they cast an Oscar nominee or a vagrant off the street-this movie is doomed to suck.
Am I the only one who feels the entire Nightmare on Elm Street franchise is garbage? A murderer that can only strike in your dreams? Oooo…terrifying. The whole thing reads like a filler episode of Star Trek Voyager.
After such an incredible performance in Watchmen, the last thing Haley needs to do is attach himself to this project. Instead, he should find a role that’s worth his time.
i loved the first one, but will admit that the quallity of each film got worse and worse w/ each sequel(not counting “wes craven’s a new nightmare”) and yes a “demon” that kills you in your sleep is terrifying considering everyone needs sleep and when you do get that sleep your dead
Sleep is the one time we feel secure enough to close our eyes for hours at a time. So, yes, a murderer who attacks you in your sleep while you’re dreaming can be quite terrifying.
You are correct in saying the sequels to Elm Street slowly lost elements of suspense and/or horror, although some of them (not entirely a bad thing) balanced it with visual and makeup effects. Eventually it was about the one liners and Freddy becoming “a pop culture phenom”, which was noted in the best of the series since the first film- “New Nightmare”
and I hope Jackie Earle Haley has more of *that* Freddy look.
I for one am very excited about this reboot. I hope they do a great job with this film! I think the casting is an interesting take. I notice that the film’s that were considered ‘cheesy’ are now very capable of attracting some fantastic talent of late!
Since it is a remake you think they will change the look of Freddy much or leave it as it is?
I doubt that they will though as it would create a major shit storm with the fans who are already pissed that they are remaking it.
I always felt as the sequels came out that Freddy’s make up got worse and worse, like his burn scars were healing some how. In the first one he was really messed up and looked great but for some reason they always pulled back on that look as he became more of a cultural icon.
I agree. First, I think they probably won’t change Freddy’s look too much…although since it’s a remake, they’ll likely do something a little different to distinguish Haley from Englund.
Second, yes, the original sequels always seemed to get cheesier in terms of Freddy’s look (makeup).
While at first…I didn’t think this was the right choice, the more I thought it over, I’m fine with the casting for three reasons:
1- Good actor
2- While Haley has played a child abuser before, that’s true. How many gangsters has Al Pacino played?
3- Overall, the remake of Elm Street does seem like a bad idea. But maybe it might prove to be a good one. I’d rather see who else they line up for this…and what they make of it.
not related to this film but to remakes/reboots:
Does Casino Royale qualify as a reboot? Its set before all of the other Bond movies, but have they claimed its outside of ‘that’ bond universe? I ask because of Judi Dench / M, which would be an example of a reboot starring a previous actor…
i believe “casino royale” is a reboot
I do not think the new James Bond movies are a reboot. A new actor was brought in to fill the shoes of a characters that has been played by five other people, thus they brought in a new take on the character. That franchise is always changing. The Bond character is timeless and as long as they have somebody to fill his shoes there will continue to be new Bond movies. As the actors change, they will not be rebooting, just continually creating new stories. Until QoS, most if not all other bond movies really had no connection to the ones before it accept for maybe actors.