I think we can all agree that Robert Englund's portrayal of Freddy Krueger is one of the most iconic in the entire horror movie genre. Englund played the character in all of the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies, aside from the 2010 remake of Wes Craven’s 1984 film, where Jackie Earle Haley played the role.
Take a look at the official trailer for 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street:It's fair to say the character of Freddy Krueger is very much synonymous with Robert Englund. The thing is, though, the 72-year-old actor hasn't been seen in his famous red and black striped jumper, hat and claws in a feature film since 2003 - which is when he reprised the role in Freddy vs, Jason.
He did play the character in a special cameo in last year's Halloween episode of The Goldbergs, but many fans assumed Englund was now completely done with the character which had so defined his career.
However, it seems that that's not necessarily the case and that, maybe, the actor has one last Krueger performance in him before he passes the baton on to someone else.
Speaking at the Monster Mania convention in New Jersey, the acting legend said that he could "probably" do "one more" movie, but after that, the franchise's subsequent films would need a new lead actor.
Watch Robert Englund's interview at the Monster Mania convention in full:"We need a Freddy that can do the next eight movies - or seven, I don’t want them to remake Part 1 again," he said. "I’m not Freddy anymore, you guys. I could do one more…probably. If you shot me up with vitamin C. But here’s the thing. I can’t do eight more, you guys. So we need a new actor that you guys believe in and trust and love that can go the distance."
Englund also voiced his support for the idea that Kevin Bacon would do the role justice:
"He's not a kid anymore either but the rumour I've heard that I like is Kevin Bacon. Kevin loves horror. He's a real actor. He's a character actor. Kevin was great in Tremors. Kevin was great in Stir of Echoes. And I've heard this rumour. We need someone like that to take it on. And re-do it, exploiting all of the new technology."
And if Kevin Bacon's own tweet reply from 2016 is anything to go by, he's all for it.
When a fan tweeted: "If a nightmare on elm street gets rebooted again can we please somehow get [Kevin Bacon] as Freddy? I think he'd be fantastic," Bacon simply responded: "I like the way you think."
I'm going to take that to mean he will take on the role at all costs - that is, whenever Englund decides to hang up his black hat and stripy jumper for good.