After definitively ending its central villain’s reign of terror, Jason Blum addresses recent reports of the Halloween franchise getting another revival. Originally created by John Carpenter and met with increasingly mixed reviews across its slew of sequels, the slasher movie series was brought back to life with much acclaim with 2018’s Halloween produced by Blumhouse, which acted as a direct sequel to the original movie. Similar to prior sequels, its direct follow-ups were met with mostly mixed-to-negative reviews, with Halloween Ends seemingly ending the franchise with Michael Myers being put through an industrial shredder, effectively killing the villain for good.
While speaking with ComicBook.com for the upcoming release of The Exorcist: Believer, Blum was asked about the recent reports of a Halloween franchise revival. The producer behind the recent sequel trilogy expressed his doubts about another continuation of the slasher movie series, assuring Blumhouse had concluded their run with the property and feeling unsure how it could continue after Halloween Ends‘ conclusion. See what Blum said below:
It was called ‘The End.’ That’s the end. I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about Halloween a lot lately. I’m not so sure, I’m not so sure. I was very sure it was our last Halloween, and now… You know, I’ve been thinking, Halloween is coming around, the actual holiday, and I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s anybody’s guess.
Does The Halloween Franchise Need Another Revival?
The initial reports of another Halloween franchise revival were met with both a mixed response from longtime fans of the franchise, as well as an indignant shrug from the film industry, as the property’s longevity made another installment inevitable. Much of the skepticism pointed towards Myers being killed off in Halloween Ends and Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie finally getting closure from her decades-long traumatic fight against the slasher villain.
That being said, the reports that a TV show was being considered to keep the franchise alive led to some theories about a prequel exploring Laurie’s fallout from her early run-in with Michael or even just about a younger Michael specifically. Should a TV adaptation take either route, it would run into the same problem many prior sequels have encountered of deciding which canon route it would take for its story. 1988’s Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers acted as a follow-up to Carpenter’s 1981 sequel, explaining that Laurie had died in a car crash, while 1998’s H20 somewhat retconned this to explain Laurie had faked her death to hide from Michael. Meanwhile, the 2018 legacy sequel did away with both timelines, creating its own that continued on from Carpenter’s 1978 original.
The only other logical path forward for the Halloween franchise’s return would be a full reboot akin to Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake and its sequel loosely based on the 1981 follow-up that established its own story as well. Michael’s definitive death in Blumhouse’s trilogy closer could be undone in a sequel, though would undo the more grounded approach David Gordon Green and his creative team took to the franchise and risk delving into the supernatural lore the ’80s and ’90s sequels were panned for. With such franchises as Indiana Jones electing to let their final chapters be the end for their characters, one can hope Miramax reverses their decision and lets Halloween Ends be the finale to the horror series.
