That said, while Carrey has been great in The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, he still hasn’t proven himself in horror. Despite its vampire plot, Once Bitten is a comedy and the thrillers The Number 23 and Dark Crimes are low points in his filmography.
Yet, Russell is convinced that the actor can pull off the part of Freddy, provided the project meets his standards. “For Jim to do it, we’d have to do something that was another leap in the Elm Street series — a little bit like what Wes did with his very meta New Nightmare. I think Jim would only consider it, and I’d only consider harnessing Jim, if there was a bold new direction for Elm Street,” he mused.
Of course, Russell’s not opposed to bringing back other familiar faces, were he to get another crack at the franchise. “I’d love to do another Elm Street if there was the full support of everybody,” he admitted, pointing out that the star of his film Patricia Arquette “has said she’d like to do it again in the press.” In fact, even while musing about the possibilities of returning to the franchise and of bringing on Jim Carrey, even Russell couldn’t forget about Englund.
“Were I to be involved in a new Elm Street, A, I’d be delighted, and B, my first goal would be to get Robert involved,” he declared. “I still think Robert, for me, is the only Freddy.” It’s hard to disagree.
