Who Thinks Kevin Bacon Could Play Freddy Krueger?

credit: Nightmare on Elm Street

Trying to convince anyone that another actor could take on the role of horror icon Freddy Krueger could be taken by another actor is an argument that a lot of people don’t want to get into most times since it’s one of those that doesn’t have a happy ending if it ends at all. But it would appear that there’s another name in the running that some think could make a worthy replacement for Robert Englund, and it’s a name that Englund also believes might be worthy of a shot. Kevin Bacon is no novice to horror movies since he’s starred in several of them, from the most iconic to the silliest that the genre has to offer. But trying t think that he could take on the role of the scarred serial killer is kind of tough simply because it feels so far out of left field. There’s nothing to say that he couldn’t pull this off, especially since he is a great actor and has been around long enough to know how to adapt to any given role. But this is Freddy Krueger we’re talking about, not some half-baked horror villain that showed up once or twice and never again. Taking on this role requires someone who might actually have the people’s faith. 

credit: Tremors

Jackie Earle Haley wasn’t terrible in the role, but people weren’t having it back in 2010. 

When Jackie took on the role, it was thought that he might be able to knock it out of the park since he’s kind of a creepy-looking guy when needs to be, and he knows how to be menacing. But somehow, some way, people didn’t want this representation. One of the biggest issues was that Freddy was a child molester in the movie, which, interestingly enough, was his role in the original script. But of course, that was changed to child killer at the time. The move from molester to a killer is a light step since a lot of people might agree that being labeled as a molester was worse than being a killer, but both titles are pretty bad. 

Kevin Bacon has played the villain more than once in his career. 

It’s important to note that he’s never played someone like Krueger, but at the same time, he’s been able to play a diabolical character all the same, so he knows how to perform in a twisted and disturbed manner. The fact is that Bacon has played some rather terrible individuals, so it’s not hard to think that he could don the makeup and the outfit and become the clawed dream demon that people have been entertained by for so long. There would be a few differences that people would take note of, no doubt since the same was done with Haley since no one can really match what Robert Englund brought to the table since the character of Freddy Krueger was unique and has lasted for a long time now. Trying to replace him hasn’t been a picnic, but trying to bring in someone that people will approve of has been even tougher. 

Would this be a reboot or a continuation?

That is a good question since the 2010 version tried to go back to the beginning in an attempt to create the legend once again with a few differences. This time around it’s hard to say if the filmmaker chosen for this project would do the same thing or find a point from which to continue the story since it’s not impossible to think that someone who qualifies as a dream demon could keep coming back again and again. Even if the story became a bit silly after a while, it’s fair to think that there could be a way that Freddy would continue to return after yet another defeat. There isn’t even a need for a strong reason as to why he would come back. He’s a killer and he wants to keep killing. As far as motivation goes, this character doesn’t really need much more to keep doing what he does. 

Kevin Bacon is a worthy successor; there’s no doubt about that. 

If Robert Englund thinks that Bacon could make it work, then it’s easy to think that giving Bacon a shot would be a great idea. After all, Englund portrayed the character for long enough that if he recommends someone, then it’s a good bet that it could work. At the very least, it’s worth a shot since this is a franchise that a lot of people would like to see brought back and continued. Whether it could be just as big as before, or if it would eventually get worn out as it did before, is anyone’s guess. It would be fun to see what could happen, though. 

Kevin Bacon could make that happen.