Since its debut in 1978, the Halloween timeline has become arguably the most convoluted of the big horror franchises. Halloween III: Season Of The Witch exists in a world where Carpenter’s 1978 original is simply a movie that shows on Halloween night. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later ignores the events of the fourth, fifth, and sixth films. Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake took a boy who was “purely and simply evil” and made him a misunderstood child from a broken home. And the less said about Halloween: Resurrection the better. Now the makers of Halloween Returns are attempting to reboot the franchise (again), and have some good ideas that will probably get mucked up in the execution.
First, director Marcus Dunstan wants to get the Michael Myers look just right. For one reason or another—perhaps the inability to find any more Don Post Captain Kirk masks?—the Myers mask has never looked as good as it did in the original. But according to Moviepilot, the director would like to reveal the new mask in a teaser trailer to give the preview “that Han and Chewie moment.” (Dunstan is, of course, referring to the final shot of the latest Star Wars trailer, another universe where everybody ends up being brother and sister.) Despite doing a few motion tests, a new Myers has not been cast yet, but according to HitFix Dunstan would like to hire Gillian Jacobs of Community fame. Referring to Jacobs’ role in Gardens Of The Night, Dunstan wondered, “if this great performer would do that again, would like to go there, and I think so.”
Dunstan also wants to go back to the roots of Carpenter’s original, concentrating on suspense more than gore or action.”[Co-writer Patrick Melton and I] went back to the original screenplay too and just read it, John Carpenter’s draft, and timed it with watching the movie, and line for line it keeps the same clock as watching the movie,” Dunstan says. “Michael Myers is subtlety and suspense,” the director explains. “Suspense isn’t expensive. A karate fight in a burning room is expensive.”
One of the most interesting bits of information that came from the director is that the new Halloween Returns will follow the events of the first three films again ignoring Halloween 4, Halloween 5, and The Curse Of Michael Myers as well as H20 and Resurrection. How Dunstan plans on shoehorning in Silver Shamrock and Stonehenge is uncertain, but the return of a hard-drinking Tom Atkins would surely be welcome amongst fans. Don’t count on a return for Laurie Strode or Ben Tramer, who will still be dead in this new Halloween universe.