According to none other than Robert Englund, Billy Bob Thornton will play former child molester Freddy Krueger in the upcoming remake of Wes Craven's influential A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.

Thornton made it onto the radar when ONE FALSE MOVE, an indie noir which he wrote and co-starred in, directed by Carl Franklin, received rave reviews during its limited release. He really broke through when SLING BLADE, which he wrote, starred in and directed, became a smash indie hit. Then he did what any actor who'd spent years starving would do: he cashed in with ARMAGEDDON, BAD SANTA and the remake of BAD NEWS BEARS, and wore Angelina Jolie's blood in a vial around his neck.

While Freddy fans are sure to lament his casting as the iconic child killer and dream stalker, I think that last item proves he's suitably demented to essay the character, and I actually like that the filmmakers didn't go with a more obvious genre vet.

I'm much less certain about the involvement of Wesley Strick, who was hired to write the screenplay. Strick wrote the CAPE FEAR remake and the excellent screenplay for FINAL ANALYSIS (A much better nod to Hitchcockian ice blondes than was BASIC INSTINCT), and he crafted some fine dialogue for WOLF, but he's also the man responsible for DOOM and THE SAINT.