When it was first announced that Danny McBride and David Gordon Green would be writing and directing a new Halloween film, our response was essentially, “Huh. That’s…one way to go.” And while McBride had already suggested they would ignore some sequels, it sounds like they mean it.
In a new interview with Stereogum, original Halloween writer-director (and executive producer on the new film) John Carpenter talks a bit about the direction of the new film, and if he’s right, it’s possible that not only is the new creative team going to abandon that ridiculous Celtic cult, but it will jettison literally everything but the original film:
I don’t know how to describe it. It’s almost an alternative reality. It picks up after the first one and it pretends that none of the other [sequels] were made. It’s gonna be fun. There’s a really talented director and it was well-written. I’m impressed.
If this is correct, then the series-defining reveal that happens in Halloween II—that Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode and the murderous Michael Myers are actually sister and brother—might not even be the case any more. True, McBride’s earlier comments that they were focusing on “the mythology” of the first two movies could mean a lot of things, including keeping some details or story beats that were shown in Halloween II, it also means they really don’t have to worry about anything other than Michael Myers being a big disturbed guy who kills people. (McBride was very clear that this new Michael will once again be an ordinary mortal.)
The only downside of this is that it then means they’re casting aside the 20-years-later events of the better-than-anyone-expected Halloween: H20, which could’ve been a fun way to incorporate Josh Hartnett and Michelle Williams cameos. But truthfully, we’re just hoping he chose his words carefully, and “alternative reality” means this movie will be set in a world where grunge music and fashion reign in perpetual moody ennui, with Michael Myers the world’s most famous flannel-wearing rocker/killer.