It’s the Booze Talkin; Heather Langenkamp vs Freddy rematch needs to happen!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

There are certain movies that are forever burned into your memory. You know, when you see it for the first time and realize it's truly special? That was my experience the very first time I found myself watching A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET all those years back. After hearing all the buzz about a dream killer with knives for fingers, I was completely taken in by this excellent feature film that I unfortunately never had the chance to experience in theatres. There was much to love of course. Wes Craven did a masterful job at making this horrific tale as creepy as it was, and of course Robert Englund was perfect for a creepy killer that haunts your dreams. Yet there is another reason that I love this film, and that is the ridiculously charming appeal of leading lady Heather Langenkamp.

Instead of hiring an established young actress, Mr. Craven brought in somebody who felt like a real teenager. While you could say that her actual performance isn’t necessarily great, there was something special about what she brought to the role. As the sleep deprived Nancy Thompson, Ms. Langenkamp had something that you just can’t fake, and that's true and honest vulnerability. While I really liked the entire cast – including Johnny Depp – it was the relatable factor that she offered that really helped. In fact, to this day, Nancy feels just as relevant and important to this scary world where when you die in your dreams, you die for real. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to find her return in both A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS and WES CRAVEN’S NEW NIGHTMARE.

While there is no major news announcement or no current plans for this to happen, Heather recently opened up about how she’d like to play Nancy again. She even mentions that it’s not terribly likely, but it’s something she’d love to do. And yes, it’s a safe bet that a number of fans would feel the same. Perhaps it’s partly due to the fact that the 2010 remake of the film starring Jackie Earle Haley was such a massive disappointment that we have yet to see a new film. However, it's a safe bet that more than a few fans would be thrilled to see a proper sequel. Certainly there are a few issues considering the last time we saw Freddy was nearly a decade ago. First off, Robert Englund is heading into his mid-70’s, so a sequel featuring both would be tricky. As well, would people still be interested in a sequel to this particular franchise so many years later? Well, it worked for Blumhouse's HALLOWEEN, so perhaps this isn’t a lost cause.

Nostalgia is a major factor in Hollywood, and frankly I’m not here to judge. As a fan of the recent return of Michael Myers, I was most excited to see Jamie Lee step up and fight off the masked psycho. As well, I’ve been looking forward to TERMINATOR: DARK FATE, mostly due to the fact that Linda Hamilton is back as Sarah Connor. So yes, as a fan of the ANOES series, I’d love to see Heather return as the spunky heroine who was able to outsmart a demonic slasher. Yet I’d certainly agree with what she said herself, you’d have to find one hell of a strong story and script to make this work… Especially after what happened to Nancy in DREAM WARRIORS. Then again, they brilliantly figured that one out with WES CRAVEN’S NEW NIGHTMARE. I love that film, and the way they bring back everyone in the cast is beyond inspired. To this day I’m still shocked that NEW NIGHTMARE wasn’t a massive hit.

Bringing Nancy back again excites me simply because I’ve always been a massive fan of this particular character. Nancy was tough, yet sweet, and she was also incredibly smart. She is just as important to the ANOES mythology as Freddy. As she grew and understood the evil, it made her all the more important. Her innocence and strength helped destroy the beast – even if only temporarily – and she continued to come back to battle for two of the sequels. All this only confirmed that she was a force to be reckoned with for Krueger. How great would it be to see these two take each other on for one last battle? And with the advancement of CG and visual effects, perhaps a talented filmmaker with a vision could figure out a way to bring Englund back in a satisfying way. I find it highly unlikely that fans wouldn’t be all in for this match-up.

Maybe it’s the booze talkin’, but we’d love to see Langenkamp vs. Freddy once again! Look, it’s almost guaranteed that this will never happen. With the critical and fan complaints that haunted the 2010 remake, it would be damn hard to really make a proper sequel to ANOES that would make sense. However, if you take a little bit of inspiration from what Blumhouse managed to do with HALLOWEEN, there is a damn good chance that this would be huge. While I’m not saying let’s have another film that is a direct sequel to the original and let’s ignore all the other films, perhaps there is another way. Maybe there is someone out there that loves this franchise and what both Langenkamp and Englund brought. What do you think? Would you like to see Nancy return to face Freddy on Elm Street? Let us know in the comments below.