Days after Paramount announced its reboot of A Nightmare On Elm Street, a report suggests that Warner Bros is planning a Krueger movie of its own. In mid-July, Paramount announced its plans to reboot A Nightmare On Elm Street, having acquired the rights to Wes Craven’s original 1984 screenplay from the late filmmaker’s estate. Now, ... A Nightmare On Elm Street | Warner Bros reportedly planning a rival reboot, directed by Lee Cronin
Days after Paramount announced its reboot of A Nightmare On Elm Street, a report suggests that Warner Bros is planning a Krueger movie of its own.
In mid-July, Paramount announced its plans to reboot A Nightmare On Elm Street, having acquired the rights to Wes Craven’s original 1984 screenplay from the late filmmaker’s estate.
Now, there appears to be a spanner (or bladed glove) in the works. Warner Bros is said to be planning its own Nightmare On Elm Street reboot, and are in talks to have Evil Dead Rise and The Mummy's Lee Cronin write and direct it.
The story comes from a credible source: veteran journalist Kim Masters, who wrote the report for Puck. It’s behind a paywall, but the bizarre news has since filtered out to Dread Central and other outlets.
So how did the situation arise in the first place? Because of a potentially thorny legal loophole. Paramount may now own the domestic rights to the Elm Street franchise, but Warner Bros has the international rights, since it’s the parent company of New Line Cinema, which produced the original movie and its sequels.
Masters’ sources suggest that Paramount went ahead with its Nightmare production under the assumption that the studio’s merger with Warner Bros would have been completed over the coming months. That would have meant that, by the time the reboot was finished, Paramount and Warner would essentially be one company – solving any potential issue surrounding international distribution.
Instead, the Paramount-Warner merger has been put on hold, pending further scrutiny – and may not complete until well into 2027.
Warner producers Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy are now said to be pushing their own Nightmare On Elm Street reboot through, and are currently in talks with Cronin.
It’s an unusual situation, but not entirely without precedent. In the mid-1970s, there were two rival King Kong movies racing to get into production; ultimately, Dino De Laurentiis beat Universal to cinemas, and the tawdry 1976 remake was pop culture’s reward.
There were also multiple Robin Hood movies on the go in the early 1990s, and Prince Of Thieves eventually came out on top in 1991 – you can read about that whole saga in the highly collectible Film Stories magazine, out now. (ABC – Always Be Closing.)
Which Nightmare On Elm Street will win this particular race? It’s a tough call at this stage. Neither side is backing down according to Masters. A source close to Paramount said, “We’re going to do our fucking damndest to beat them.”
We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
