Halloween Kills Gets Working Title as It Heads Into Production

Back in July, Halloween fans learned that two sequels would be heading into theaters in 2020 and 2021, which included the reveals of their titles, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends. With the first of those sequels heading into production, its working title of "Mob Rules" has been revealed, per Production Weekly. Some highly-anticipated films head into production without their official titles having been revealed, leading fans to speculate what the meaning behind a working title could be, but with fans already knowing the film is titled "Halloween Kills," this working title doesn't give us much insight into what to expect from the sequel.

Last year's Halloween was a risky endeavor, as it marked the first film in the franchise in nearly a decade, with a number of the sequels in the series feeling redundant to its fans. Knowing the risks, Blumhouse Productions stacked the deck by enlisting original director and co-writer John Carpenter to serve as a producer and composer, in addition to bringing back original actress Jamie Lee Curtis to reprise the role of Laurie Strode for the fifth time. Additionally, the film featured a cameo by Nick Castle, who played the masked Michael Myers in the original film, marking his first return to the series since 1978.

In addition to the redundant nature of many of the series' installments, another setback was its multiple timelines. In hopes of delivering audiences the most compelling story, the series would regularly retcon the events of the film before it, sometimes contradicting the events of those films, resulting in a confusing mythology. Last year's film followed a similar track, ignoring the events of all films in the series minus the original entry. This approach paid off, as it allowed the narrative to pave its own path forward without having to adhere to preconceived expectations.

Curtis is set to reprise her role as Laurie Strode in the upcoming film, which will see the return of other characters from the original film who have largely been absent from the series. Kyle Richards will reprise her role as Lindsey Wallace in the sequel, her first appearance since 1978, with her character in that film being babysat by Laurie. Anthony Michael Hall will be playing Tommy Doyle in the new film, a character who was also being watched by Laurie in the original film and was also the main character in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, played by Paul Rudd.

In the original Halloween, Doyle was tormented by local bully Lonnie, who was briefly mentioned in last year's sequel by name. Robert Longstreet is set to play Lonnie in Halloween Kills.

Halloween Kills lands in theaters on October 16, 2020 and Halloween Ends lands in theaters on October 15, 2021.

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