Like most films during pre-production, David Gordon Green’s Halloween went through various script treatments, and at one point followed the continuity of the previous sequels. Forty years after the original Halloween film by John Carpenter and nine after Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, Michael Myers and Laurie Strode are back with a new story that aims to rewrite what audiences have come to know so far about these characters.

For that, the creative team behind this film decided to ignore all sequels and remakes – so, essentially, this one would be Halloween II. Rebooting one of the most famous and beloved franchises in the horror genre is not an easy task, and the writers had to go through various script ideas until they finally decided to directly follow the original film.

Ahead of his San Diego Comic-Con appearance with Universal Pictures, writer and director David Gordon Green spoke to THR about the creative process behind this new Halloween. Green explained the writing process took approximately eight months and 80 drafts, in which he and writer Danny McBride explored many different ways they could go as well as different characters. But leaving the sequels and remakes behind was not always part of the original plan. Green explained:

When asked about the experience of bringing the story to John Carpenter, Green said that it happened once they had the concept of leaving the sequels out of it, and that Carpenter’s reaction gave them the confidence to move forward and get Jamie Lee Curtis, the original Michael Myers, Nick Castle, and Carpenter himself to do the music.

“We started incorporating all the follow-ups and then it got overwhelming trying to engineer something that made sense. Some of the plot points became a little stretched thin as the franchise went on. And so ultimately finding those frustrations, [Danny] McBride came to me and just said, ‘What’s the Michael Myers movie that you really want to see?’ Halloween I was, to me, the most pure and, in a lot of ways, the most simple. I get the real connection with the terror of a movie that isn’t so lost in its own mythology”.

As for what fans can expect during their panel at Hall H on Friday, Green shares they’ve “got some new footage” and they “put a little program together that I think is going to get people even more excited about what we’re going to unleash here in three months.” Curtis is the only cast member confirmed so far for the panel, but, hopefully, attendees will get to see both Michael Myers (Nick Castle and Jude Courtney) as well new cast members Judy Greer and Andi Marichak, who play Laurie’s daughter and granddaughter, respectively.

Ignoring the continuity of the franchise might seem like a risky move, but if viewers take into account that most sequels (and especially the remakes) were not that well-received, it looks like the smartest move the writers could have done. It’s only a matter of waiting a few more months to see what new details this film will bring to the Halloween mythology – and only a matter of days to see a bit more of what Gordon and company have been working on.

More: Halloween Reboot: Every Update You Need to Know

Source: THR

  • Halloween Release Date: 2018-10-19