Jackie Earle Haley is the new Freddy Krueger.
The actor will star as the iconic screen villain in New Line's redo of "A Nightmare on Elm Street," taking over the role that was played by Robert Englund.
Samuel Bayer is directing the relaunch, which was written by Wesley Strick. The pic starts lensing May 5 in Chicago.
Platinum Dunes’ Andrew Form and Brad Fuller are producing. John Rickard is co-producing. Richard Brener, Walter Hamada and Dave Neustadter are overseeing for New Line.
The role would cap a whirlwind couple of years for Haley, who made a splash in the 1970s as a child star in movies like "The Bad News Bears" then faded in the early 1990s.
Haley burst back on the scene in 2006 playing a pedophile in Todd Field's "Little Children," and also appeared in “Semi-Pro” with Will Ferrell, both for New Line, and indie drama "Winged Creature." He was praised for his portrayal of Rorschach in the recent "Watchmen" and next appears in Martin Scorsese’s "Shutter Island."
