LogFAQs > #930453818

Skye Reynolds posted...

On the subject of Heather Langenkamp, I'm curious as to her involvement in the sequels and whose decision it was to kill off Nancy in the third movie. It appears that Heather Langenkamp didn't receive too many roles before or after A Nightmare on Elm Street. She had a cameo as a victim in Wes Craven's Shocker (1990) and a three season stint on a TV series called Just the Ten of Us (1988 - 1990). That's about it.

I wonder if a third film appearance would have solidified her as the Lori Strode to Freddy's Michael Myers. Even if she didn't enjoy being in horror movies, I'm sure a trifecta of film appearances would have helped her gain greater recognition. Of course, that TV series came after her second appearance as Nancy Thompson. Maybe she was banking on that being her big break. It's a shame. She did a really good job in the first movie. Honestly, I liked her better as Nancy than I did Jamie Lee Curtis as Lori Strode.

She does play Nancy for a third time, but you'll discover that soon enough. She also remarried in 1989 to special effects artist David LeRoy Anderson and they had a child in 1991. Basically, she took time off to be a mom.

You've been keeping up with Robert Englund's appearances really well. Next up is for you to go back and catch all of Robert Shaye's cameos. Founder of New Line Pictures and producer of the series, he appears as the bartender at the S&M bar in Freddy's Revenge and as the teacher talking about the Dream Master in, well, Dream Master. I think he was the news announcer in the first film also and appears in each sequel from here on out (reboot doesn't count).

You may have noticed Wes Craven had a writing credit on Dream Warriors. He was first attached to the film along with Bruce Wagner and much of it remained in the next duo of writers, Chuck Russell and Frank Darabont (both would go on to create The Blob remake along with Darabont making a name for himself with The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption and The Walking Dead). It was in the Craven / Wagner script in which Nancy returns along with the institution and the group of teens.

Freddy was more perverted. The snake scene originated with it along with the line about giving "Freddy a little head" and Freddy licking one of the kid's faces by saying "he likes him" when asked why Freddy is trying to kill him. His child molester side was brought out and into the open in this draft. Freddy's house acts as a gateway to the dream world so it's used in place of falling asleep. Freddy doesn't have the one liners like what's used which is a catch 22---without the humor he displayed in Dream Warriors, he may not have caught on. It's crazy to imagine, but Freddy mania after Dream Warriors was huge. Merchandise in Toys R' Us and Walmart for example. Lines went around the block for the opening of the films starring a child killer. The more dark and sinister dialogue in the Craven / Wagner script likely would have changed the direction of the series and the longevity of the character. To answer your question, Nancy died in the Craven / Wagner script as well but she turns Freddy's glove back onto him to deal the killing blow to him rather than a death by holy water.

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Reading up on the Bat-Family: https://bit.ly/2Us5RhG