This Freddy Krueger guy never seems to stay dead. Paramount announced today that it has struck a deal with the Wes Craven estate for the theatrical rights to adapt the original A Nightmare on Elm Street screenplay.

This reboot of the original film will be the first project from Paramount Primal, a new genre label under producers J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules. Lifshitz and Margules are the co-founders of BoulderLight Pictures, a company that has produced films like Weapons, Barbarian, Companion, and more.

The duo will serve as executive producers on the new A Nightmare on Elm Street film, while Iya Labunka, Marc Toberoff, and Jonathan Craven will produce. Iya Labunka was married to Wes, and Jonathan Craven is their son. Labunka has worked in the film industry as a production manager, coordinator, and producer. She said the following in a statement:

Jonathan and I are so excited to be partnering with J.D. and Rafi along with the terrific team they’ve assembled at Paramount Primal. We look forward to bringing the world of Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street to a new and completely engaged generation of fans. We know that Wes would have been thrilled to see how horror is taking its long overdue place in the cultural canon. We can’t wait for all of us to sit together in a dark theatre - around the campfire of today - as the next chapter of the Nightmare story unfolds.

The press release announcing the news described the newly founded Paramount Primal as a label that “will partner with next-generation storytellers and established filmmakers to produce smartly budgeted films across a variety of genres, including horror, comedy, action, and grounded science fiction.”

The label was announced last year, with Paramount Pictures Co-Chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg saying in a statement that J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules “have distinguished themselves as two standout visionaries of the ‘premium pulp’ genre, while also proving their prowess across all genres. With a track record of films that are both critically acclaimed and audience-beloved, we are so thrilled that they’re making their home at Paramount Pictures. Together, we cannot wait to bring moviegoers even more inventive and visceral stories that are like nothing seen before on the big screen.”

The original A Nightmare on Elm Street was released in 1984, centering on an undead serial killer named Freddy Krueger who invaded his victims’ dreams. The movie is considered a horror classic that helped advance the slasher genre, and like almost every popular horror flicks of the era, it spawned many follow-ups. There are six direct sequels, a spin-off show, Craven’s fascinating metafilm New Nightmare, the maligned Freddy vs. Jason crossover, and Samuel Bayer’s detested 2010 reboot, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Many critics and fans would argue that the best entries in the series are the ones that Craven worked on directly: the two he directed (the original and New Nightmare) are generally considered the two biggest standouts, while the third film, which he co-wrote, is usually considered the other good one. Lifshitz and Margules have a tall task in finding another director who can fill his shoes. For what it's worth, Obsession director Curry Barker recently said he'd love to make a new A Nightmare on Elm Street movie. Whoever ends up taking the reins, here's hoping the film is at least better than the last reboot.