Latest ‘Halloween’ Trailer Features Multiple Sequel Nods

The upcoming Halloween sequel will ignore the events of all films other than the original, yet the latest trailer featured two direct nods to elements of Halloween II and Halloween III: Season of the Witch, teasing that the final film will be full of homages to the overall franchise.

The trailer opens with Michael Myers stalking the streets on Halloween night, encountering trick-or-treaters as he obtains a hammer to wield to kill someone in their house. Fans of Halloween II will recognize that this is similar to a sequence in that sequel, which takes place immediately after the events of Halloween. Once Myers falls out of a window in the film’s finale, that first sequel depicted him lurking the neighborhood to find a new weapon, grabbing a kitchen knife from an unsuspecting neighbor’s kitchen.

Not only does the opening of this trailer feature a loose narrative connection, but fans might recognize a similar outfit depicted in the new film as in Halloween II. That sequel showed Myers grabbing a knife from a woman, Mrs. Elrod, who is making a sandwich for her husband while wearing a pink robe with curlers in her hair. In the new trailer, Myers is also invading the home of a woman wearing a pink robe with curlers in her hair.

Later in the trailer, once the community is aware of Myers, they flee in fright, with audiences witnessing two children wearing skull and jack-o’-lantern masks. These aren’t uncommon disguises on Halloween, but fans of the franchise will immediately recognize these costumes from Halloween III.

While audiences were initially bewildered by the events of Halloween III, the sequel has gained a passionate cult following over the decades, with the film’s omission of Michael Myers creating a divisive reaction.

Director of the original film John Carpenter never intended for the character to be explored in a future film, though the success of the original ensured the studio would want to continue the franchise. Carpenter begrudgingly agreed to help write the film, as to have some control over the series, seemingly killing Myers for good in the finale.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch instead explored a novelty company that used ancient rituals to insert computer chips into Halloween masks of a witch, skull, and jack-o’-lantern which, when worn while a specific jingle played, would kill the wearer. The film did feature footage of Myers, though he appeared in a commercial for a TV broadcast of the original Halloween as a piece of in-world self-reflexivity.

Following the confusion of audiences regarding Myers’ whereabouts, all subsequent films featured Myers as the antagonist.

With these being references merely from the trailer, we can likely expect even more references when Halloween hits theaters on October 19th.

Are you hoping for other nods to the franchise in the upcoming sequel? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!