Just as David Gordon Green’s 2018Halloweenreboot received the enthusiastic blessing of franchise co-creator John Carpenter, his upcoming sequelHalloween Killshas gotten Carpenter’s blessing, too. Continuing from the end of the previousHalloweenmovie,Halloween Killswill see the people of Haddonfield uniting with the three generations of Strode womento vanquish Michael Myersfrom their town once and for all.
When Entertainment Weekly asked Carpenter about Green’s new movie, the director gave it a glowing review: “It’s brilliant. It’s the ultimate slasher. I mean, there’s nothing more than this one. Wow! Man.” Carpenter and Debra Hill’s script for the original 1978Halloweenmovie becamethe template for the modern slasher. Alfred Hitchcock’sPsychois believed to have originated the popular horror subgenre (andThe Texas Chain Saw MassacreandBlack Christmasboth predatedHalloween), butHalloweenis credited with establishing all the tropes and paving the way for such low-budget gems asFriday the 13thandA Nightmare on Elm Street. So, when Carpenter refers to a movie as the “ultimate slasher,” he’s something of an authority on the subject.
RELATED:David Gordon Green: Halloween Kills Is About ‘Misinformation’
Although it was supposed to hit theaters in October 2020,Halloween Killswaspushed back to October 2021due to the spread of coronavirus (fingers crossed it’ll actually be able to make that date, or it’ll have to be pushed back to October 2022). So, the cast and crew have had to continue to roll out their promotion of the movie for another twelve months. Green recently spoke about the broader themes of the sequel, saying that it will deal with timely issues like misinformation and paranoia.
Carpenter hasn’t been directly involved in the writing of the rebootedHalloweenseries, though he did compose the score (as he did with the original movie) with the collaboration of his son Cody Carpenter and his godson Daniel Davies. The two Carpenters and Davies' are returning to score the sequels, too. The elder Carpenter confirmed that the score forHalloween Killsis complete, but added that he hasn’t been able to start work on the score for the nextHalloweenmovie because ofthe COVID-19 shutdown.
Halloween Killsis the first of two back-to-back sequels directly following the 2018 reboot. The second will beHalloween Ends, which will conclude the new trilogy, although co-writer Danny McBride has acknowledged thatthere will probably be moreHalloweenmoviesafter it. Carpenter hasn’t directed a feature film sinceThe Wardin 2010, but he recently released the albumLost Themes III: Alive After Death.
Halloween Killsis scheduled to be released in theaters on June 17, 2025.
