Mike Flanagan Unfortunately Can't Get A Nightmare On Elm Street Movie Made
Now a couple of decades into his career, Mike Flanagan has become arguably the preeminent name in the world of genre filmmaking. And one look at his resume will confirm that reputation is more than well-earned, with Flanagan boasting a slate of film and television projects as emotionally engrossing as they are utterly terrifying.
For the past few years, most of Flanagan's projects have been backed by Netflix and served as some of the streamer's biggest hits over that span. While they've still got one more series on the docket with Netflix (this year's "The Fall of the House of Usher"), Flanagan and his longtime producing partner Trevor Macy are officially jumping to Amazon Studios for future projects. The biggest of those is, undoubtedly, Flanagan's adaptation of Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" saga, which the filmmaker has long called a dream project.
With Flanagan apparently set to make that dream a reality, it seems there may be another well-known IP he'd like to take a crack at in "A Nightmare on Elm Street." The multi-hyphenate talent spoke openly about his desire to bring a new chapter of the beloved, yet oft-beleaguered horror franchise to the masses. Sadly, Flanagan also admitted he'll likely never get the chance to do it.
Rights issues are apparently holding Flanagan back from pitching a new Elm Street flick
Mike Flanagan made this admission during a recent appearance on the Script Apart podcast. While much of the discussion is centered on Flanagan's masterful Netflix series "Midnight Mass," the topic of potential future projects eventually did come up. And the filmmaker was quick to offer "A Nightmare on Elm Street" as a property he'd love to tackle.
"One of the [franchises] on my list forever has been 'A Nightmare on Elm Street,'" Flanagan said, adding with a chuckle, "Boy, that would be fun." The "Doctor Sleep" helmer went on to claim he's already plotted a fresh take on the franchise. Unfortunately, it seems nobody quite knows who he should pitch it to. "I have a whole take for it that I worked out a couple of years ago," he told Script Apart, adding, "and my understanding is the rights situation for that title is so fraught, no one knows who controls it really, and no one knows who to pitch."
As Flanagan goes on to say, even his agents aren't really sure who he should talk to in regards to the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise. And it seems even his "The Midnight Club" star Heather Langenkamp (who starred in the original franchise) doesn't know who currently holds the rights to Freddy Krueger-centric content. As it stands, the "Elm Street" franchise has now been dormant since the much-maligned 2010 reboot. And if Mike Flanagan can't figure out how to get a new "Elm Street" project off the ground, it'll likely remain so for the foreseeable future.