This year marks the 10 year anniversary of the critically-panned A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, and unsurprisingly, there are plans to make another movie featuring Freddy Krueger. Like many horror franchises, A Nightmare on Elm Street is one that has proven to be too profitable to be kept dead.

With the rights to the franchise recently reverting back to Wes Craven’s estate, the estate is currently looking for fresh movie and TV ideas for the franchise. Many fans are hoping that the next film can make up for the 2010 reboot, so here are 5 Things We Want From The Nightmare On Elm Street Reboot (And 5 We Don’t).

Want: Returning Cast Members

For most horror buffs, the best way to reboot the A Nightmare on Elm Street series would be to bring back the cast of the original film. The series could easily be rebooted by retconning everything after the original film and simply start fresh, akin to what Halloween did in 2018.

Despite them making a lot of money, most of the Nightmare sequels didn’t do much for the series. Robert Englund has even said he would be interested in one more A Nightmare on Elm Street movie, as did Nancy Thompson actress Heather Langenkamp. With the actors wanting to reprise their roles and the fans begging for their return, it only makes sense for this to happen.

Don’t Want: A Rehash of the Original

While Wes Craven’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street is considered the best film in the entire franchise, the reboot shouldn’t just completely copy the first movie. The whole point of a reboot is to reinvigorate interest in the series with fresh and new ideas. The 2010 reboot may have introduced new characters and a slightly new story, but it was criticized for pulling a lot from the original film.

If the next A Nightmare on Elm Street movie has any hope of being successful, it needs to have fresh ideas and not completely rely on the original. Having fan service is one thing, but just giving fans a new copy of the 1984 film would be a mistake.

Want: Practical Effects

One of the things that makes A Nightmare on Elm Street so re-rewatchable is the use of practical effects. Anyone who is familiar with the series knows that the budget for the first Nightmare on Elm Street was super low, so they had to rely on cheap and practical effects to scare the audiences. Needless to say, it worked.

The 2010 reboot ditched practical effects for unrealistic CGI, and fans weren’t happy. In order to recapture the charm of an ‘80s horror movie, the reboot needs to also utilize practical effects. Practical effects have no doubt improved in the past 35 years, so seeing an updated A Nightmare on Elm Street use this technique would be a treat for fans.

Don’t Want: An Explanation Of Freddy’s Powers

Freddy Krueger was resurrected many times through the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. However, it wasn’t until Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare that the dream demons were introduced to explain Freddy’s powers.

In a flashback sequence, the parents of Freddy’s victims are shown burning down his hideout, when three dream demons come out of nowhere and give him powers. The reboot is unlikely to remake this laughable scene, but it doesn’t need to try to explain his powers at all. Explaining his powers takes away the mystery of the character and ultimately makes him not as scary.

Want: An R-rating

One thing that is crucial to the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot is that it has an R-rating. Having the film be PG-13 would be an awful idea, especially since all of the other films in the series have been rated R. Horror and other R-rated franchises will sometimes try to pull off a PG-13 installment to reach a wider audience, but it usually doesn’t work out as planned.

Apart from being a child killer, Freddy has also sexually abused them, although this plot point is often side-stepped in the series. Trying to pull off a PG-13 Nightmare on Elm Street would no doubt be a mistake and something that hard-core fans of the series probably wouldn’t even bother seeing.

Don’t Want: Comedy

The first few films in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise are straight horror movies. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is really the turning point for the franchise that started to implement a lot more humor into the franchise. Most horror buffs would agree that the franchise started to see a decline in quality after this decision, which is why the reboot needs to avoid it.

The best route for the reboot is to go back to the atmosphere Wes Craven created in the ’80s. In order for the new movie to be successful, Freddy needs to go back to be a dark and terrifying villain.

Want: New Characters

If the franchise doesn’t reboot itself like the Halloween franchise recently did, the best new thing would be to introduce new characters. Characters like Nancy, Tina, Rod, and Glen are so well-known by the fans that it would be a nightmare trying to recast them. Fans would focus on comparing the characters to their ‘80s counterparts, and most fans would still probably like the original actors better.

The 2010 A Nightmare on Elm Street included new characters, but they were clearly the same characters from the original but with different names. In order to create something fresh and get out from the shadow of the original, new characters will be a necessity.

Don’t Want: A New Backstory

In the original series, Freddy sexually abused children and killed them. He was an incredibly dark character that somehow turned into a comedic figure. Ironically as the series got more popular, Freddy Krueger toys were even advertised for kids. As hated as the 2010 reboot is, it didn’t shy away from including the more disturbing parts of Freddy’s backstory, and the next film shouldn’t either.

As long as the film has an R-rating, the film can delve into sensitive subjects that will make Freddy scary again. If they decide to change Freddy’s backstory substantially, they might as well just make a different movie focusing on a new horror villain.

Want: A Connection To The HBO Max Series

Fans were thrilled to find out that Wes Craven’s estate was not only looking for ideas for a new movie, but for a TV series as well. The Nightmare on Elm Street TV show is expected to go to HBO Max, if it actually happens. The franchise had attempted to branch out onto the small screen back in 1988 with Freddy’s Nightmares, but the series was more of an anthology type series similar to Tales From the Crypt.

Sending the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise to the small screen could be a great way to expand the franchise, and the movie should be the introduction to the TV series.

Don’t Want: A Redesigned Costume

Ever since Fred Krueger hit the big screen back in 1984, he became an instant icon. Some people see a dirty fedora or a red and green sweater and instantly think of Freddy. Needless to say, Freddy’s image has become iconic, and fans will not want to see a redesigned costume in a reboot.

Freddy got a slight redesign back in 1994 for Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, and even Wes Craven went back and forth on whether he liked his decision or not. It’s been a decade since Freddy hit the big screen, and people are going to want to see that fedora, dirty sweater, and glove in the reboot when it finally comes out.

Next: Wes Craven’s 10 Best Movies (According to IMDb)