Halloween: Timeline of the Michael Myers Franchise Explained

Later this week, the David Gordon Green-directed trilogy of Halloween movies concludes with Halloween Ends, which is set to be the final conflict between Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers. Like any franchise that runs for more than 40 years and earns 13 installments, newcomers to the series can lose track of the important events of the overall timeline, and when it comes to the Halloween franchise, in particular, there have been a number of installments that actively contradict others. Even compared to peers like Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween has a much more confusing history.

The upcoming Halloween Ends will be the fourth timeline that will be coming to an end, with the franchise even including one installment that didn’t connect to the previous films, as 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a self-contained story about an evil mask maker. For anyone confused about the overall timeline of the franchise, we’re here to break down all the timelines and important installments for each one.

Halloween Ends lands in theaters and on Peacock on October 14th.

Timeline 1 (1978 — 1995)

The first timeline launched with Halloween in 1978 and was followed by Halloween II, taking place immediately after the events of the first film as Michael Myers continues to hunt sister Laurie Strode after she’s taken to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital.

Michael appears to be killed when he’s immolated by his determined psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis, who also seemingly perishes in the blaze.

1988’s Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers retcons both Loomis and Michael’s deaths, revealing the mute murderer has spent the past ten years in a comatose state at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium.

Curtis declined to appear, resulting in Laurie Strode’s offscreen death by way of car accident. leaving behind her eight-year-old daughter, Jamie Lloyd — Michael’s niece.

A newly awakened Michael then pursued Laurie’s eight-year-old daughter, Jamie Lloyd — Michael’s niece — in sequels Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, which revealed Michael to have long been under the control of the shadowy Cult of Thorn, who manipulated the serial killer by way of an ancient curse. 

Timeline 2 (1978 — 2002)

That timeline would be abandoned after Curse following the death of actor Donald Pleasence and Curtis’ desire to return to the franchise ahead of its 20th anniversary. In 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Laurie Strode is alive — having faked her death in a car accident — and living under the name Keri Tate in California, where she serves as the headmistress of a private boarding school attended by her 17-year-old son John.

H20 tells us Michael has been believed dead for the past 20 years — having been burned to death at the end of Halloween II — subsequently disregarding Return, Revenge, and Curse, all of which featured a very active and conspicuous Michael Myers.

Michael returns to stalk and attempt to kill Laurie in both H20 and 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection, where he finally succeeded in his years-long mission to kill his sister by stabbing Laurie and dropping her off the roof of a sanitarium in the opening scene.

Timeline 3 (2007 — 2009)

The second timeline was abandoned when Dimension Films opted to reboot the franchise entirely with 2007’s Halloween from writer-director Rob Zombie.

That film delved into the trashy past of a young Michael Myers before jumping to the present, where a hulking Michael (Tyler Mane) pursued beloved little sister Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton).

A 2009 sequel followed, with this Halloween II ending with the apparent deaths of both Dr. Loomis and Michael, who was brutally stabbed to death by Laurie — an experience that left the teen in a psychiatric ward.

Despite a planned sequel — originally dubbed Halloween 3D — the Zombie reboot ended up defunct and Dimension readied what was described as a “recalibration” under Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan.

That project, later known as Halloween Returns, was cancelled in late 2015 when Dimension lost the franchise rights.

Timeline 4 (1978 — 2022)

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse — producers of the Insidious and Purge franchises — resurrected Michael Myers in 2018’s Halloween, erasing everything beyond Halloween 1978. 

In this timeline, Michael was captured by authorities after his murderous rampage in 1978, where he was institutionalized for 40 years. The impact of that fateful night left Strode (Curtis) with PTSD, sacrificing all of her personal connections as she prepared for Michael’s eventual return.

That return came when Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer) intentionally sabotaged a prisoner transfer, allowing Michael to return to Haddonfield to continue his reign of terror. While seemingly left to burn in an inferno at the end of Halloween, Halloween Kills showed how Myers survived the blaze and continued his warpath. Despite seemingly being critically wounded, Myers still somehow survived a vigilante mob and killed Laurie’s daughter Karen (Judy Greer), with Halloween Ends jumping forward four years from the last film.

The End of Laurie Strode

Four decades ago, Halloween kicked off Jamie Lee Curtis’ career, with the ’80s seeing her become a major star. Even though she’s earned acclaim for a variety of roles, her impact on the horror genre is undeniable. While we don’t quite know what the future holds for the Halloween franchise, Curtis has made it clear that her time as Laurie has come to an end. 

“No matter what I do — whatever the f-ck I do forever — Laurie Strode is because of you and I thank you,” Curtis recently recalled at a convention appearance of her character. “Endings are a bitch, but so is Laurie Strode.” 

She continued, “At this point, Jamie and Laurie have become woven together. There is no separation … I don’t have anything in my life without Laurie Strode. Nothing. I wouldn’t have a career, I wouldn’t have a family.”

The Return of John Carpenter

The original Halloween, initially called “The Babysitter Murders,” was co-written by Debra Hill and John Carpenter, with Carpenter serving as director. In order to save both time and money, Carpenter also crafted the film’s now-iconic score. After decades away from the franchise, the filmmaker returned to the series as both a producer and composer for the current timeline, enlisting the help of Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies for the trilogy’s unsettling sonic landscape.

Despite the upcoming film’s ominous title, Carpenter doesn’t think the series will end as definitively as some might expect.

“Let me explain the movie business to you: if you take a dollar sign and attach it to anything, there will be somebody who wants to do a sequel. It will live. If the dollar sign is not big enough, no matter what, it will not live,” Carpenter joked with ComicBook.com about what could happen after Halloween Ends. “I don’t know, man. I don’t know. This time, I do not know. They really want to end. They’re going to shut it off, end it. It’s what David has in mind. That’s fine.”  

Halloweens Past

Even though the current timeline ignores the actual narrative events of all films outside the original, including retconning the concept that Laurie Strode is Michael’s sister, Green has paid tribute to all corners of the franchise through subtle nods and Easter eggs. For example, Nick Castle has returned to provide Michael with his ominous breathing, having performed a majority of the masked scenes in the original film, while James Jude Courtney has carried the torch of the character in this current timeline. Even Halloween Kills managed to find ways to pay its respects to the standalone Halloween III, with Halloween Ends sure to find even more ways to honor all corners of the series.

Halloween Ends hits theaters and Peacock on October 14th.