Halloweencame back in a big way last year whenDavid Gordon Green’s legacyquel starringJamie Lee Curtisopened to $76 million and went on to gross $255 million off a $10 million budget. That kind of success usually means sequels, and nowHalloweenis getting two of them.
Producer and series creatorJohn Carpenterhas taken to Twitterto announce that there will be back-to-backHalloweensequels. On July 27, 2025, we’ll getHalloween Kills. On August 11, 2025, we’ll getHalloween Ends. There are no details about the saga beyond it continuing the story of Laurie Strode (Curtis) and Michael Myers, so we’ll have to see what the filmmakers have in store. Green will return to direct. Per the press release,Halloween Killsis written by David Gordon Green &Danny McBride&Scott TeemswhileHalloween Endsis written by David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, andPaul Brad LoganandChris Bernier.Judy GreerandAndi Matichakare expected to return alongside Curtis.
What’s curious about these movies is how they plan to further the narrative. The big hurdle for something likeHalloweenis that its greatest strength and its greatest weakness is its simplicity. It hits a primal fear of the slasher—the Boogeyman waiting to kill you—but can you build a complete trilogy out of that? And doesn’t continuing the story diminish what happens in earlier movies? At the end of 2018’sHalloween, Laurie has “killed” Michael, but if he’s back, what does that mean. If someone has taken up the mantle, that’s interesting, but then there’s no personal relationship, as weak as that personal relationship may be.
It will be interesting to see how the story plays out over the next two movies, but it looks like Universal wants to take ownership of October for two years. Given the newfound popularity of the franchise, they’ll probably get it and for the relatively low price that Blumhouse provides (don’t expect to see a $100 millionHalloweenmovie). I’m not sure the narrative can sustain two more movies (especially when the reboot was so steeped in nostalgia), but perhaps now that they’ve paid homage, they can forge a path into something new and exciting.
Here’s the announcement video:
