Barbarian has proven to be a hit with critics and audiences alike and that’s largely due to the brilliant mind of director Zach Cregger. It might come as a surprise to some to learn that this is actually Cregger’s first deep dive into the horror genre. After the success of Barbarian, it wouldn’t be shocking if studios were looking at Cregger to work on known horror franchises such as Halloween, Saw, Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. Well, recently, OTN had the chance to speak to Cregger and when asked about working on an established horror franchise, here’s what he had to say:

I don’t think I would do it. I’m one of those guys, when they do another Texas Chainsaw movie, I’m like “No!”. I don’t know if that’s fair or not but I just love the originals and it’s rare when someone reboots a horror movie and it improves upon the original. Now, Evil Dead 2 is better than Evil Dead so there’s an exception to every rule and I think Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is such a departure from Texas Chainsaw Massacre that it’s it’s almost like it’s own thing, which I find really cool and exciting. I just think it’s hard to do it and I think a sequel to Barbarian would have to be a straight up comedy.

Zach Cregger

So there you have it, sounds like Cregger isn’t interested in helming any installments for established franchises. It’s honestly a shame because after Barbarian, I think he’d do a great job with something like Nightmare on Elm Street or, something that’s definitely a stretch, a Basket Case reboot. After seeing how he handled the Mother, a deformed killer being, along with the comedic tone, Basket Case seems like a natural fit for the director.

Georgina Campbell as Tess in 20th Century Studios’ BARBARIAN, exclusively on Hulu. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Barbarian is now playing in theaters. Keep an eye out from more with our talk with Cregger later in the week!