'Halloween' Sequel Makeup Designer Teases New Look of Michael Myers Mask

When the original Halloween was being made in 1978, the production team used the resources available to them to create the killer's iconic disguise by purchasing a William Shatner mask, distressing it, painting it, and teasing its hair. Subsequent films have been tasked with trying to replicate the iconic visage to varying degrees of success. Christopher Nelson, one of the makeup artists on the currently filming sequel to the original film, recently detailed the process of creating a mask for the new film and the changes audiences should expect.

"The film takes place 40 years later, so you're not going to have that same mask, it's not going to be this pristine, beautiful thing that it was in 1978. You have to approach it from that standpoint," Nelson shared with Halloween Daily News. "I had 40-year-old masks that I studied and looked at how they broke down, how they wrinkled, how they did this and how they did that. I also took into account the context of the film. Where is the mask now and where has it been for these 40 years? Without revealing anything, I took that into context. I had hundreds of photos and books."

The original prop was used in 1981's Halloween II before being retired, currently being in severely deteriorated condition.

"I mostly really wanted to capture that feeling you got when you saw Michael Myers," Nelson pointed out. "I was also talking to [director] David [Gordon Green] about how we were going to shoot it, and being very careful about it, very strategic about it, looking back at [original film director John] Carpenter and [director of photography] Dean Cundey and how they did that. That's how I approached the mask."

Michael Myers has become one of the most iconic characters in cinema history, making the task of creating a new mask that honors the original film incredibly difficult.

"I wanted to create the character of Michael Myers, not just the mask. You're not creating just a mask. You're creating a character. You're creating a feeling that you get that does have an expression," Nelson confessed. "The mask does have an expression, but also the mask looks completely different in every single angle it's ever been photographed at, and I wanted that feeling too. I wanted the feeling that when you saw Michael Myers, it morphs, it changes, it looks different from every single angle, like the original one did. I can safely say we accomplished that."

Fans will see the all-new mask in action when the upcoming Halloween sequel hits theaters on October 19th.

Are you nervous about how the new mask will look in the upcoming film? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T Halloween News Daily]