Horror fans have pretty much come to terms with the fact that there’s going to be a Nightmare on Elm Street remake. They’ve even accepted that Robert Englund, the actor who’s practically synonymous with Freddy Krueger, has hung up his striped shirt and child-piercing gloves for the last time. But will they be able to stomach Billy Bob Thornton as Freddy Krueger?

No official announcement of Billy Bob Thornton’s attachment to the film has been made, but Robert Englund lent credibility to the rumor when he spoke of it during interviews last week. Although I can’t quite visualize Billy Bob Thornton in the Freddy Krueger role, he’s a decent actor and I’m willing to see how things go.

My issue with the casting of Thornton is that Robert Englund ostensibly stepped aside from the part of Freddy to allow a younger actor to reinvigorate the role. This is where I say, “WTF?” Robert Englund is 61 and Billy Bob Thornton is 53. That’s not enough of an age difference to justify severing Englund from his iconic role as Freddy Krueger.

If you’re having trouble imagining what Billy Bob Thornton might look like as Freddy, someone at FirstShowing.net has flexed their Photoshop muscles to bring you a mock up. In related news, Defamer has observed the Billy Bob Thornton curse, so anyone else signing on to the Nightmare on Elm Street project might want to think twice.