Paramount Primal Partners With Wes Craven Estate For New ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’ Feature

Paramount Pictures has finalized an agreement to secure the domestic rights to the original screenplay of the 1984 horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. Under its newly announced genre division, Paramount Primal, the studio will adapt the material into a new feature-length film set within the franchise’s established universe.

The U.S. distribution and adaptation rights were licensed directly from the estate of the late writer-director Wes Craven, who created the original dream-stalking antagonist, Freddy Krueger. The estate is overseen by Craven’s widow, Iya Labunka, and his son, Jonathan Craven. The mother-son duo will serve as producers on the upcoming film alongside Marc Toberoff, a prominent copyright attorney who helped the family legally reclaim the domestic rights to Craven’s foundational 1984 screenplay under the 35-year copyright termination provision.

Paramount Primal heads J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, best known for producing recent genre hits such as Barbarian, Companion, and Friendship, are attached as executive producers. The new division, previously operating as an untitled low-budget production label at New Line Cinema, is structured to partner with emerging and veteran filmmakers to deliver smartly budgeted titles across the horror, comedy, action, and grounded science-fiction spaces.

The original A Nightmare on Elm Street was distributed by New Line Cinema in 1984, earning the independent studio the historical moniker “the house that Freddy built”. The property spawned seven direct sequels, a television series, and a 2010 theatrical reboot starring Jackie Earle Haley, collectively generating substantial global box office revenue. While Warner Bros.’ New Line retains international rights to the franchise catalog, Paramount’s domestic acquisition allows the studio to construct a new narrative foundation using Craven’s original story architecture.

In a joint statement, Lifshitz and Margules expressed their honor in collaborating with the Craven estate to “welcome Freddy home”. Labunka echoed this enthusiasm, noting that a modern reimagining will introduce the legendary intellectual property to a new generation of theatrical audiences. The project remains in early development, with no director, screenwriters, or main cast members officially attached to the production.