Michael Myers is going back to Haddonfield in David Gordon Green’s Halloween, hitting theaters this weekend, and while fans might have to wait for a sequel, there was originally talk about filming two sequels back-to-back. It’s been 40 years since John Carpenter’s Halloween and nine since Rob Zombie’s take on Halloween II, and a few changes had to be made in order to take the audience back to this universe.

This new Halloween completely ignores all sequels and remakes, aiming to rewrite everything fans have come to know about this franchise. Essentially, this new story would be Halloween II, and it reunites Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers (played by both Nick Castle and James Jude Courtney) decades after Myers’ killing spree on Halloween night. The film also introduces new characters Karen Strode (Judy Greer) and Allyson Strode (Andi Matichak), Laurie’s daughter and granddaughter, respectively. A sequel was discussed along with this film, but it was ultimately scratched, and producer Malek Akkad kind of forgot about it.

Speaking to Bloody Disgusting, Malek Akkad explained why they chose to leave the sequel aside – for now, at least. Filming sequels back-to-back is a common move in the industry, as it reduces costs and allows them to keep the actors (whose schedules can sometimes interfere), crew, and sets. However, the team behind Halloween opted to focus on this first film and how it will be received by the audience before they jump to a sequel.

Earlier this month, it was reported that another Halloween sequel is already underway, and that director David Gordon Green and screenwriter Danny McBride would not be back, with Blumhouse aiming for a 2019 release, once again in time for Halloween season. After receiving positive reactions following its premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Halloween it’s on its way to become a box office success, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the studio officially announced a sequel before the year is over.

“Yes, there was and it was a bit crazy. We didn’t have a script. David and his teams, we all could have done it but the idea was let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s see the audience appetite. Let’s see how we all work together. In terms of Tranca’s point of view, we went from having one distributor and now technically three. We have Miramax, Blumhouse and Universal. For everybody involved in this film it’s been a growing process. I think it probably would have been too ambitious to do and that’s I think where we ended up on it. To be completely frank, I forgot about that until right now. It’s been quite a year”.

As practical as it is to shoot back-to-back films, the decision to focus on this first film before immediately jumping to a sequel might be the wisest move the production team could have made, more so if they didn’t even have a script yet. And if we take into account the continuity problems of the franchise, waiting to make what would be our new Halloween 3 is definitely for the best.

More: Just How Scary (& Violent) Is Halloween 2018?

Source: Bloody Disgusting

  • Halloween Release Date: 2018-10-19