Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
Fast X Star Sung Kang Throws His Hat into the Ring to Play Freddy Krueger
If A Nightmare on Elm Street ever comes back, Sung Kang would like to pick up Freddy's glove.
When you think of Sung Kang these days, you usually think of him for his work in the Fast & Furious franchise. Kang's character, Han Lue, has been a part of the saga since Tokyo Drift nearly 20 years ago, and despite a brief (and it turns out fake) death, he's since returned to the fold for more adventures with the Toretto family, the latest of which is Fast X.
But the action star is about more than just one genre. Kang is also a huge horror movie fan, and this year he's turned that fandom into creativity with Shaky Shivers, a new werewolf horror-comedy built on his love of movies like An American Werewolf in London and Gremlins. Kang stepped into the director's chair for the film, which opens September 21, but we can't help but wonder if this means more horror acting is in his future.
Why Sun Kang Wants to Play Freddy Krueger
Well, it turns out Kang's not just down to star in horror movies, but he actually has a dream role in mind. Speaking to Collider about Shaky Shivers and his lifelong horror fandom, Kang explained that if given the chance, he'd love to play one particular legendary horror movie villain: Freddy Krueger, the main antagonist of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise launched by writer/director Wes Craven back in 1984.
RELATED: Fast X Star Sung Kang Explains That Continuity Error
“I’d love to play Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street," Kang said. "That character was just so fun. Having experience with prosthetic makeup and sitting in the chair for four hours like I did in the Obi-Wan series in Star Wars, that's the only part that I kind of wonder if I have the stamina to sit in the makeup chair for months. But that character was so fun! That sweater, to this day, is so iconic, and the knife fingers. That'd be on the bucket list for sure.”
Who Else Has Played Freddy Krueger Over the Years?
A child killer who transformed into a dream demon after the parents of his victims burned him alive, Freddy Krueger first emerged back in the original Nightmare film, and was unforgettably played by Robert Englund. Englund continued to play Freddy for the next two decades, popping up in five sequels to the original story, one metafictional reimagining with Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and the 2003 crossover film Freddy vs. Jason. In 2010, after years of silence from the character, Freddy returned in the rebooted A Nightmare on Elm Street film, this time played by character actor Jackie Earle Haley. Talk of yet another reboot, or even a legacy sequel starring Englund, has persisted ever since, though Englund told Variety earlier this year that he considers himself "too old and thick" to play the role again.
So, if a Nightmare reboot ever does emerge, perhaps Kang will get his shot at playing the iconic slasher villain, giving his own spin to a well-known horror legend. If it does happen, though, he won't be without competition. Chucky star Devon Sawa has also made it clear that he'd be interested in the role.
Want more Sung Kang? Stream Fast X when it hits Peacock September 15 or get it now on Digital, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD.
