‘Halloween’ Producers “Never Considered” a Third Rob Zombie Film

The Halloween franchise returned to theaters this past weekend with its first film since 2009’s Halloween II from director Rob Zombie. While the merits of the filmmaker’s two contributions to the series can be debated, they returned the killer Michael Myers to the cultural zeitgeist, leaving fans to wonder why they never got a third film. According to franchise producer Malek Akkad, a third film from Zombie was never in the cards.

“That’s where the Rob Zombie film comes. I know Rob Zombie’s films, like every single one of these films, they’ve got their die hard fans and their detractors,” Akkad shared with Bloody Disgusting. “That’s one of the beauties of horror films is that people just love to debate and talk about them and discuss them. We did the Rob Zombie era if you will. We did two films with Rob which we didn’t really know we were going to do two. We never considered doing three. So after two of those, I didn’t really see any other director continuing in Rob’s voice a part three and using those characters that he had set up.”

Zombie’s first film offered audiences a new interpretation of how Myers became a killer, with some fans appreciating the reimagining of the character while others felt as though the film removed the character’s mystique. The second film delivered a more straightforward slasher, as told through Zombie’s signature style.

The filmmaker managed to earn a passionate following thanks to House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects, making his interpretation of Halloween highly anticipated. Despite Zombie’s Halloween films being financial successes, the series itself stagnated.

Despite fans having to wait nearly a decade for a new film, Akkad pointed out that the wheels were always in motion to bring a sequel to life, even if those plans didn’t always come together.

“We had several different scripts and some really good filmmakers,” Akkad admitted. “Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer were on the first start which at the time actually was Halloween 3D. I love Patrick and Todd. I think they’re great filmmakers and that was that moment where 3D was making its resurgence. So I do think that would’ve been a really great movie. I liked it and I wanted to work with those filmmakers. Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, I really enjoyed working with them. These kinds of filmmakers, I wish we could have gotten that going those sake if nothing else.”

The wait for a new film was seemingly worth it, as the new Halloween took in $77.5 million in its opening weekend, setting a franchise best.

Do you wish we had gotten a third Halloween film from Zombie? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T Bloody Disgusting]