A couple of days ago, we got our first footage from the highly anticipated Halloween-themed episode of The Goldbergs, in which Jackie Goldberg squabbled with her son Adam about whether he should be allowed to watch A Nightmare on Elm Street. Notably absent from this clip, however, was the man that slasher fans have all been waiting for, Robert Englund, who’ll be reprising his role as the famed Freddy Krueger for the first time since 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason.
That unveiling’s been saved for this new 15-second promo, which shows us that Adam did indeed watch Elm Street, and just as Jackie feared, he’s having some bad dreams. Though short, the video does offer a quick homage to Johnny Depp’s death scene in the 1984 film, as well as a shot of Freddy’s wardrobe filled with red-and-green striped sweaters. Jackie, meanwhile, is taking none of the killer’s shtick, failing to even give this dream demon the dignity of having his name pronounced correctly.
For more imagery from the upcoming episode, a batch of photos were released earlier this month that give us a good look at Englund’s faithfully reproduced make-up effects while offering a tour of his dark and mist-laden dream world. Show creator Adam F. Goldberg’s previously suggested that Englund was impressed by the reverence for the character that came through in the script, and you can sense a similar affection for the series in these visuals.
Though Englund continues to offer new ideas of how the story and mythology of A Nightmare on Elm Street could be continued in future films, the chances are looking slim that the actor will ever reprise his role for a full movie. With that in mind, The Goldbergs episode – titled “Mister Knifey-Hands” – could well serve as the last hurrah for the character when it airs on October 24th.