Roberto Lombardi has stated in interviews that in order to prepare to play Freddy Krueger for the first time, he studied physical and psychological traits of sadists, masochists and child abductors and their methods. He also studied the original A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and New Nightmare (1994) for voice traits and mannerisms.
Krueger: A Tale from Elm Street (2011), Voorhees (Born on a Friday) (2011) and Myers: Rise of the Boogeyman (2011) are all part of the "Killer Prequels" trilogy by Chris R. Notarile.