A Terrifier producer wants to be the next Freddy Krueger, and he has played a young Robert Englund before
Filmmaker Michael Leavy has dropped a video of himself in Freddy Krueger makeup to pitch for the role — and there’s a past connection you might not expect.
Michael Leavy is properly throwing his hat in the ring – make that a battered fedora – to become the next Freddy Krueger. And he isn’t just making noise about it online; this week he went the whole hog and posted a video of himself done up as Freddy, glove, burns and all. Keen to let horror fans judge the look for themselves, Leavy has clearly embraced the #LeavyForKrueger campaign that’s started brewing across social media. As for enthusiasm, he’s got it in spades, and a bit of history to back it up.
Michael Leavy played Young Andover, the earlier version of Robert Englund's character, in 2014's Fear Clinic.
The Freddy connection
So, why does Leavy reckon he’s got a real shot at taking over from Robert Englund? Turns out, the two already have some shared history. Back in 2014’s Fear Clinic, which starred Englund as Dr. Andover – a psychiatrist using some very questionable science to 'treat' phobia victims – Leavy appeared as the younger version of Englund’s character. In other words, Leavy’s already played the early life of a now-iconic horror figure, on screen, while Englund played the older version. Not bad as audition tapes go.
That’s not just a one-off genre cameo either. Leavy has gone in deep on horror for years, not just in front of the camera, but behind it as one of the producers on Terrifier 2, Terrifier 3, and Stream, plus the documentary Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story and Penance Lane. He even stepped up as director on Stream, and has a pile of other projects to his name, many of them distinctly horror-tinged. So it’s fair to say, Leavy’s more than just a fan cosplaying for a laugh – he’s been building up his CV in this corner of the industry for ages.
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Leprechaun ambitions
This isn’t Leavy’s first rodeo when it comes to trying to get hold of a beloved horror property, either. Last year, Leavy and his brother Jason Leavy put together a proof-of-concept short called Leprechaun Revenge – basically, a 'look what we could do' pitch to Lionsgate for a fresh entry in the Leprechaun series.
- Mark Holton (from the original 1993 Leprechaun) returned as Ozzie Jones
- Linden Porco took on the Leprechaun role
- Maren Altman had a part as well
- The story saw an older, slightly paranoid Ozzie proved right about the Leprechaun’s return
The brothers were very clear: that short was a 'love letter' to the series, but with a bit more bite for modern audiences. Leavy made no bones about wanting to direct a full official Leprechaun film – but, as of now, Lionsgate has gone in a different direction. They’re developing a new entry with Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (the duo behind several Saw sequels) handling the writing, and Oren Koules and Miles Koules producing. At this stage, details like the actual director, cast or release date are all a mystery, and Leavy isn’t officially attached.
That hasn’t stopped him campaigning to get his own piece of horror history, with his brother Jason even going to bat for him and saying Leavy is the right bloke to wear the glove. For now, the ball’s in the studio’s court. But you can see for yourself what Leavy might look like as Freddy: the transformation vid is doing the rounds, and fans have already started weighing in on whether he fits the role.
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