With the recent movies bringing back a variety of legacy actors, Danielle Harris reveals why she didn’t return for David Gordon Green’s Halloween sequel trilogy. Beginning with the 2018 hit, the recent installments in the long-running horror franchise retconned every sequel prior to it, establishing yet another new timeline in which only the 1978 original had occurred. Jamie Lee Curtis returned as heroine Laurie Strode, once again facing off against Michael Myers as he unleashed terror on Haddonfield, Illinois. While the first was well-received, the subsequent Halloween sequels garnered progressively worse reviews and lower box office returns.
During a recent interview with Screen Rant for her psychological thriller Dark Obsession, Harris was asked whether she was ever approached to appear in Green’s Halloween trilogy. Though confirming she reached out to Blumhouse to express her interest in returning, she was ultimately never offered a part, but the legacy star was fine with it, feeling she was holding out for one reason. Check out what Harris shared below:
No, I actually myself had talked to the guys at Blumhouse and said, “Hey, I just want you to know, I would totally love to do a little teeny cameo, because I would love to work with him and be part of this.” But again, I’d already done Annie and come back for Rob Zombie’s, and how many times can I come back as another character realistically without it being stupid? So, I got it, but I had talked to them about other ideas that I’d had for the franchise, and living in it for as long as I’ve lived in it, and what I would love to see happen.
Obviously, I’ve said from the beginning, I would love to see where Jamie is now, as an adult. I wouldn’t come back to the movie as anything other than that, and I’m hoping that now they’ve got the rights to TV series and all these things in the universe, the whole Halloween world. I’m really hoping that that they find a timeline where we can go back and explore where I am right now, because I would sure love to know.
Harris’ Halloween Return Could’ve Set Up A New Future
Given Green’s Halloween trilogy retconned prior sequels, it’s understandable Harris didn’t reprise her iconic role of Jamie Lloyd for the new movies. Introduced in 1988’s The Return of Michael Myers, Jamie was the secret daughter of Curtis’ Laurie, even renamed as such to homage the franchise’s original star, and as such was the niece of Michael Myers. Despite the movie setting up a bizarre passing of the torch between the two, its sequel ultimately saw Jamie and Michael share a telepathic link, while its infamous follow-up, The Curse of Michael Myers, saw an adult version of the character murdered.
With Green’s Halloween movies introducing a different Laurie daughter in Judy Greer’s Karen, Harris returning for the new trilogy could’ve set up an interesting new path forward for Jamie. Given it was revealed that Laurie had a troubled life in the years after the John Carpenter classic, it still could’ve been explained that Harris’ Jamie was the offspring of another failed marriage, but that her father elected to raise her away from Haddonfield. This still would’ve involved retconning Jamie’s original encounters with Michael, but could’ve opened the door to Harris’ character returning to town to learn more about her heritage and subsequently facing Michael.
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The one hurdle this would’ve presented for Green would be revisiting the infamous familial ties between Michael and Laurie revealed in 1981’s Halloween II. Green’s first movie quickly did away with this notion, a move celebrated by most Halloween fans. However, given how divisive his trilogy ultimately became as Laurie progressively became more of a supporting player than an active participant in bringing Michael down, not only would retaining this concept have made more sense for bringing Harris’ Jamie into the fold, but also could’ve provided a more meaningful closure to the franchise with Halloween Ends. With Harris still keen to explore Jamie’s future in the franchise, one can hope that the next filmmaker finds a creative way to bring the iconic character back.
Halloween (2018)
RHorrorThrillerHalloween is the first film of the David Gordon Green-directed sequel trilogy to the 1978 original horror/slasher film. Having been institutionalized for forty years after the events of the original Haddonfield murders, Michael Myers escapes during a prison transfer to pursue his original target, Laurie Strode. Having lived in fear of his shadow for years, Laurie learns of his return, setting the stage for war while trying to protect her daughter and granddaughter from her masked tormentor.
- Release Date
- October 18, 2018
- Director
- David Gordon Green
- Cast
- Jamie Lee Curtis , Judy Greer , Andi Matichak , Will Patton , Virginia Gardner , James Jude Courtney , Nick Castle
- Runtime
- 106 Minutes
- Writers
- David Gordon Green , Danny McBride , Jeff Fradley , John Carpenter , Debra Hill
- Story By
- 213011,213013
- Budget
- $10 Million
- Studio(s)
- MiraMax , Blumhouse Productions , Trancas International , Rough House Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- prequel(s)
- Halloween (1978)
Halloween Kills
RHorrorThriller
In the sequel to 2018’s Halloween, Halloweek Kills sees the Strode family minutes after they left masked monster Michael Myers caged and burning in their basement; Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor. But his ritual bloodbath resumes when Michael manages to survive. The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael’s first rampage, deciding to take matters into their own hands to end Haddonfield’s killer once and for all.
- Release Date
- October 15, 2021
- Director
- David Gordon Green
- Cast
- James Jude Courtney , Anthony Michael Hall , Judy Greer , Andi Matichak , Kyle Richards , Will Patton , Nick Castle , Jamie Lee Curtis
- Runtime
- 105 Minutes
- Writers
- David Gordon Green , Scott Teems , Danny McBride
- Story By
- 213011,213013
- Budget
- $20 Million
- Studio(s)
- Blumhouse Productions , MiraMax , Trancas International , Rough House Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- prequel(s)
- Halloween (1978) , Halloween (2018)
Halloween Ends
RHorrorThrillerThe showdown against Michael Myers, Laurie Strode, and the entire town of Haddonfield comes to a head in the final installment in the David Gordon Green Halloween trilogy, Halloween Ends. Set four years after the last film, Allyson is now living with Laurie and believes that the ghost of Michael Myers is no longer haunting her as he once did – deciding to live a new life with her granddaughter and carry on. But when history repeats itself when one man is accused of murder after babysitting a child, Haddonfield again descends into chaos. Now believing the killer to have struck once more, Laurie Strode will prepare herself to face off with Michael Meyers for the final time.
- Release Date
- October 14, 2022
- Director
- David Gordon Green
- Cast
- Jamie Lee Curtis , Andi Matichak , James Jude Courtney , Will Patton , Kyle Richards , Rohan Campbell , Nick Castle
- Runtime
- 111 Minutes
- Writers
- Chris Bernier , John Carpenter , David Gordon Green , Debra Hill , Paul Brad Logan , Danny McBride
- Story By
- 213011,213013
- Budget
- $33 Million
- Studio(s)
- Universal Pictures , MiraMax , Blumhouse Productions , Trancas International , Rough House Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- prequel(s)
- Halloween Kills , Halloween (2018) , Halloween (1978)
