'A Nightmare on Elm Street' to return with new Paramount adaptation
Get ready for another "Nightmare on Elm Street."
Paramount Pictures closed a deal for the U.S. rights to adapt the original screenplay for the supernatural slasher movie, ABC Audio has learned.
The franchise -- which kicked off with director and writer Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" in 1984 -- focuses on fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, who hunts victims in their dreams. With his scarred face and metal clawed glove, the character became a horror icon and appeared several sequels and spinoffs.
The U.S. rights are being licensed from the Craven estate, which includes the late director's wife Iya Labunka and his son Jonathan Craven.
This deal marks the first project for Paramount Primal, a new genre label at the company set to be led by producers J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules.
The currently untitled film is in priority development at the label. While plot details and a release date have not been revealed, the movie will be set in the world of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and will be based on the original film's screenplay.
Labunka, Jonathan Craven and Marc Toberoff will produce while Lifshitz and Margules will executive produce for Paramount Primal.
"We look forward to bringing the world of Wes Craven's 'Nightmare on Elm Street' to a new and completely engaged generation of fans," Labunka said.
"We know that Wes would have been thrilled to see how horror is taking its long overdue place in the cultural canon. We can't wait for all of us to sit together in a dark theatre -- around the campfire of today -- as the next chapter of the 'Nightmare' story unfolds."
Lifshitz and Margules said in a statement that they "can't remember a time" before they were fans of Craven.
"The fact that Iya and Jonathan have entrusted us with this opportunity to help usher a new story into this world is an honor beyond words," they said. "We look forward to working alongside them to bring a terrifying new nightmare to audiences everywhere -- and to welcome Freddy home."
