Rather than follow in the footsteps of Rob Zombie and remake/reboot the property again, the Halloween franchise has decided to return to its roots and give the masses a movie set in the original continuity. It was announced last month that Jamie Lee Curtis will reprise Laurie Strode, the sister of main antagonist Michael Myers, in the simply-titled Halloween, marking her return to this horror-filled world after more than a decade. As for why Curtis is being brought back after all this time, director David Gordon Green answered thusly:
Because she is Laurie Strode (laughs). Right? I don't know who else is going to play her? She's just really lovely, and lives and works outside the Hollywood norm. And I love her spirit. And her character is iconic.
If the new Halloween movie is looking to emulate the feel of its eldest predecessors, then including Jamie Lee Curtis is a step in the right direction. While she hasn't appeared in every Halloween installment, Laurie Strode is tied to this franchise almost as closely as the knife-wielding Michael Myers, so if Curtis is willing to reprise the character, then by all means, bring her aboard. Green also mentioned in his interview with Metro that he saw similarities between Curtis and Jake Gyllenhaal, the star of Green's most recent movie, Stronger, as well as Curtis' godson.
The first two Halloween movies (released in 1978 and 1981, respectively), chronicled the teenaged Laurie Strode fighting to survive Michael Myers' reign of terror, with Halloween II revealing that the serial killer was actually her biological brother. Jamie Lee Curtis vocally cameoed in Halloween III, but she wouldn't fully return to the Halloween franchise until 1997's Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, followed by 2002's Halloween: Resurrection. 15 years later, David Gordon Green was fortunate that Curtis approved of his Halloween script, and longtime fans only have to wait another year to see what the actress' fifth outing as Laurie will be like.
All we know so far about the next Halloween movie will mark Laurie Strode's final confrontation with Michael Myers, though if this installment proves to be a critical and commercial success like some of Blumhouse's other horror movies, perhaps the studio will reconsider the "finality" of this tale. Like Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Halloween will also be a direct sequel to Halloween II. In other words, it will ignore every movie that came after, which means that it's been 40 years since Laurie's last encounter with Michael. David Gordon Green is co-writing Halloween with Danny McBride, and John Carpenter, who launched the Halloween franchise with Debra Hill, is attached as executive producer.
Halloween will scarce audiences in theaters on October 19, 2018. Be sure to find out what other movies are coming out next year in our extensive premiere guide.
