David Gordon Green, director of Halloween (2018), has confirmed that there will be a time jump between the upcoming horror movie Halloween Kills and its sequel Halloween Ends. During an interview on the ReelBlend podcast, the director shared that unlike the other two films in the rebooted franchise, Halloween Ends won’t take place on Halloween night. So, it looks like our favourite serial killer, Michael Myers will be taking a break.
In 2018, Green helmed the reboot of John Carpenter’s Halloween franchise, making a direct sequel to the original 1978 film. In the new thriller movie, we saw Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers battle it out and witnessed both character’s surviving the deadly encounter. Halloween Kills is the sequel to the 2018 flick and picks up right where its predecessor left off, taking place on the same Halloween night with Laurie being rushed to hospital and Michael out for vengeance.
Although the director kept plot details about Halloween Ends under wraps, Green did disclose that the future film will “take a beat” after Halloween Kills before resuming the slasher story. He also explained that Halloween Kills is meant to explore the community of Haddonfield’s response to Michael’s killing spree and expand the story’s scope. In contrast, Halloween Ends will be the “satisfying” conclusion to Laurie and Michael’s saga.
Green’s statement re-affirms that his and Blumhouse’s Halloween reboot will be a self-contained trilogy. Similarly, Jamie Lee Curtis has hinted that Halloween Ends will be her last film as the character Laurie Strode. However, Jason Blum, founder of Blumhouse Productions, has expressed interest in keeping the Halloween franchise alive past Michael Myers.
Who knows? We may even get another Halloween III: Season of the Witch scenario that isn’t about Michael at all but instead uses October 31 as its main focal point. But considering Halloween III’s negative reception, it seems like leaving Michael out of the slasher franchise is a risky move.
Halloween Kills will release on October 15 across UK and US cinemas. US viewers can also enjoy the slasher on the streaming service Peacock on the same day. Halloween Ends is scheduled to release on October 14, 2022.