Mark Patton has a brilliant idea on how the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise should continue. Patton starred alongside Kim Myers in ANightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, which made a profit at the box office but was widely panned upon release. Patton’s poor treatment behind the scenes and the inappropriate comedic use of homoerotic sub-text forced the actor to leave Hollywood for nearly three decades, but he is slowly making a comeback. Freddy’s Revenge is also now more widely appreciated today than it was during the transphobic times of the ’80s.

When asked by Screen Rant at Mad Monster Party Arizona if he would consider returning to the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Patton confirmed that he would and also gave an idea of how Freddy Krueger could return. The actor stated that he thinks Ryan Murphy should be hired and give Freddy the American Horror Story treatment by turning each movie in the franchise into a separate season. Patton’s full comment from the event can be read below:

I actually think what they should do is, I think that if Ryan Murphy was hired, I would do Nightmare on Elm Street as American Horror Story and do it over parts, so each movie is a separate piece, play so to speak. And you could really get into the backstory on it.

Would a Nightmare on Elm Street TV Show Work?

At this point, Freddy’s future is very unclear. In recent years, the horror genre has seen a resurgence of iconic properties. Blumhouse saw success in David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy, and Wes Craven’s Scream franchise was also successfully rebooted in 2022. Even Friday the 13th, which fell victim to a lawsuit between the first film’s writer and director, is continuing with a TV show on Peacock called Crystal Lake.

Despite the big faces of horror returning, there is still no word on when Freddy will return. The rights to A Nightmare on Elm Street reverted back to Wes Craven’s estate in 2019, but unfortunately, the last update fans got was that they were exploring ideas for a new movie and/or TV show. A handful of Nightmare on Elm Street stars, including Heather Langenkamp and Mark Patton, are interested in returning, but Robert Englund retiring as Freddy Krueger has created a huge obstacle for studios looking to reboot the IP.

As of late, studios are also having massive troubles at the box office, so sending A Nightmare on Elm Street to streaming could be a smart option when Freddy inevitably returns. As Patton stated, giving each movie its own season could greatly expand on lore and character development, but whoever reboots A Nightmare on Elm Street is likely to craft a new story rather than remaking each movie. Freddy’s Nightmares proved to be a failure when it aired back in 1988, but with the success of streaming series in recent years, Freddy may now be better suited for the small screen.