New Line has settled on a writer to bring Freddy Krueger back to life.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, busy veteran screenwriter Wesley Strick has signed on to write a relaunch of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise for the Warner Bros. division.

Robert Englund's razor-fingered Freddy Krueger was born in Wes Craven's 1984 classic about a group of teens whose dreams are terrorized by child killer who lurks in their dreams. Freddy returned in a slew of sequels, most recently facing off with Jason Voorhees in the self-explanatory 2003 hit "Freddy vs. Jason."

The trade paper says that New Line wants the sequel to be darker in tone, delving into the nature of dreams, while also keeping a high school setting. A 2009 release date would allow the studio to capitalize on the 25th anniversary of the original.

Strick's credits include "Cape Fear," "Wolf" and "Doom." He was most recently attached to AMC's possible series adaptation of "Carter Beats the Devil."