Picking up where 2018’s Halloween left off, David Gordon Green’s Halloween Kills is all about the survivors and the victims of Michael Myers’ reign of terror back in the fall of 1978. Alongside Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode, Lindsay Wallace and Tommy Doyle are brought back into the story, played by Kyle Richards (reprising the role) and Anthony Michael Hall, and there is specific recognition of all the people who the serial killer murdered during the fateful night captured in John Carpenter’s classic film.
Unfortunately, pulling off the latter proved to be a bit more complicated than originally expected for the production, but thanks to the cooperation of the great Bob Odenkirk, the issue was ultimately resolved and Halloween Kills has been outfitted with an amazing Easter Egg.
I learned about this story yesterday during an interview with David Gordon Green, Jamie Lee Curtis, and producer Jason Blum – captured in the video above. During my screening of Halloween Kills, I spotted Bob Odenkirk’s name in the end credits, but didn’t remember actually seeing him in the movie. Wanting to feed my curiosity, I asked the filmmakers about it, and the director gave me the inside scoop on the Better Call Saul star’s involvement:
In the original Carpenter film, the Bob character, I wanted to have acknowledgement of all the deaths from the previous film, but we couldn't track [the actor] down or get the rights. Somehow we couldn't clear an image of Bob for our television news broadcast. And so I was frustrated by that because I wanted to acknowledge Bob's death, but we couldn't get footage of Bob. So I Googled 'Bob 1970s High School,' and a photo of Bob Odenkirk popped up that looked just like Bob! So I thought, 'He's probably easier to find; let's go get him!'
Bob Simms in 1978’s Halloween is played by John Michael Graham, and the role is his only credited part. Fans will remember him as the boyfriend of P.J. Soles' Lynda Van Der Klok, who meets a rather grisly fate when he is just trying to get a post-sex beer. An encounter with Michael Myers in the kitchen results in him being pinned to the wall with a chef’s knife and quickly dying.
Excitedly adding to David Gordon Green’s story, Jamie Lee Curtis explained that the production reached out to Bob Odenkirk, and were thankful when he said yes:
They contacted him and he signed off on the rights to have his high school picture be the Bob in [the movie].
At the end of the day, it’s practically a coincidence that Bob Odenkirk is a part of Halloween Kills, but it’s an element of the film that David Gordon Green seems to be very proud of. He added,
I'm a huge Bob Odenkirk fan. So that opportunity was just too juicy to ignore.
So when Halloween Kills arrives in theaters and on Peacock next week, be sure to pay close attention to the news broadcast early in the film, as you’ll get to quickly spot a photo from Bob Odenkirk’s high school days. And also be sure to pay close attention here on CinemaBlend in the coming days, as we’ll have more for you from my interviews with the new sequel’s filmmakers and cast.
