Upcoming ‘Halloween’ Sequel Originally Referenced Follow-Up Films

Of all the popular horror franchises out there, Halloween has arguably the most complicated narrative, featuring multiple revisions, retcons, and reboots. This made things difficult for filmmakers David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, who were tasked with writing an all-new installment in the series, which hits theaters this fall. Green, who also directed the film, confirmed his initial attempts at crafting the screenplay incorporated elements from the many sequels, though it proved too difficult and resorted to writing a film which ignored all follow-up films.

“We started incorporating all the follow-ups and then it got overwhelming trying to engineer something that made sense,” Green shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “Some of the plot points became a little stretched thin as the franchise went on. And so ultimately finding those frustrations, McBride came to me and just said, ‘What’s the Michael Myers movie that you really want to see?’ Halloween I was, to me, the most pure and, in a lot of ways, the most simple. I get the real connection with the terror of a movie that isn’t so lost in its own mythology.”

The film’s first sequel in 1981 established the concept that Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) was Michael Myers’ estranged sister, motivating him to return in hopes of following through on his murderous attempts over the course of multiple sequels. When Green and McBride decided to set their film after the original chapter, it opened up a world of possibilities.

“Once we kind of had a concept of eliminating Halloween 2 and beyond, that’s when we went over to [original director John] Carpenter’s house, which was a lovely picnic, and nervously presented our ideas to him,” Green recalled. “Through the course of that very suspicious conversation, [we] saw him go from cross-eyed to big smiles and then that gave us the confidence to move forward pretty quickly and then try to get Jamie Lee Curtis, [original star Nick Castle] and Carpenter himself to do the music. The next wave of ambition kicked in once we, as I like to say, we kissed the ring of the Godfather and he gave us the thumbs up.”

The overall process proved long and arduous, with the filmmakers concocting an immense number of ideas, but once Curtis confirmed she wanted to return, it was smooth sailing.

“It was probably eight months of 80 drafts, exploring different ways we could go and following different characters,” Green confessed. “Then we started casting it and we learned Jamie Lee wanted to be in it. So then we geeked out and wanted to beef up the Laurie Strode character. All of a sudden people started showing interest and so our opportunities started to expand even while we’re shooting the film. Every Saturday was rewrites for Sunday rehearsals so that I could feed off of what we learned that week or for what an actor’s idea might have been or a skill set that we didn’t know we had in front of us. So we were writing up until the very last week of production.”

Fans will see how Green and McBride’s vision unfolds when Halloween hits theaters on October 19th.

Do you wish the new Halloween borrowed elements from more of the sequels? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T The Hollywood Reporter]