Jamie Lee Curtis recently spoke about how writer-director David Gordon Green was able to convince her to return to the Halloween franchise. Since last week’s San Diego Comic-Con extravaganza - where Halloween (2018) enjoyed a huge panel in Hall H - more and more details have been emerging concerning Blumhouse Productions' latest installment in the long-running series.
Halloween (2018) will serve as a direct follow-up to the events of John Carpenter’s original 1978 classic of the same name, and sees Jamie Lee Curtis reprise her signature role of slasher survivor Laurie Strode. James Jude Courtney plays Michael Myers in most of the new film, although original actor Nick Castle is back to assume the terrifying persona once again in a few select scenes. Halloween (2018) sees Myers having been imprisoned after the events of the original Halloween film, where he tried to hunt down Laurie. When a true crime documentary crew visits Myers to try and tell his story, the murderer escapes, and goes back on the hunt for his favorite target.
Related: Jamie Lee Curtis Hugs Fan Who Says Halloween Saved His Life
In an interview with Screen Rant during SDCC, Jamie Lee Curtis herself spoke about the process of making Halloween (2018), and the big step of returning to the Halloween universe to square off against Michael Myers once again. When asked how David Gordon Green was able to convince her to return, Curtis said the decision came very easily, once she saw the script. “Oh, it what was what he wrote on the page,” the star said. “He sent me a script. I read it. I called him. I said 'yes.' It was that easy. Really it wasn't... I liked what he was doing with it. I liked the idea he was omitting all of the other sequels and just focusing on the original movie.”
While the first drafts of Halloween (2018) were actually going to attempt to incorporate all of the many sequels that followed Carpenter’s original movie, Green and his creative team ultimately decided to go a different route, and simply place the events of the new film 40 years after Laurie's first encounter with Michael. Producer Jason Bloom has said that Halloween (2018) “came with a lot of baggage” because the franchise was so big, having been made up of nine other films. The decision to cut out the sequels, remakes and reboots paid off, as Jamie Lee Curits’ comments indicate that the omission of the sequels was a main factor in her decision to sign on.
Because Halloween (2018) won’t have to waste time trying to reconcile all of the events of the sequels, the film will be able to concentrate fully on providing fans with a scary, memorable experience. John Carpenter himself counseled the Halloween (2018) creative team, and told its writers to make the horror “relentless.” Footage from the film that screened exclusively at SDCC indicates that the writers followed Carpenter’s advice to a tee. Reports of the footage describe an elaborate tracking shot that follows Myers through an array of houses as he goes on a killing rampage, presumably to prep for his final encounter with Laurie. This one clip alone promises a wave of terror from Green's Halloween that will honor John Carpenter's 1978 original in the best way possible, and serves to reinforce why Curtis opted to come back into the fold.
Next: Halloween 2018 Trailer Confirms Major Michael Myers Retcon
Key Release Dates Halloween (2018) release date: Oct 19, 2018
