With remakes and reboots of franchises certainly not going anywhere anytime soon, neither are the potential haters. Trolls can be as terrifying as jump scares for filmmakers involved in reboots, especially when they're accused of "ruining childhoods" through attacks on social media. The soon-to-be-released new Halloween could the latest victim to the internet's fury, if the sequel doesn't deliver to hardcore fans' liking. As the release nears, Halloween writer Danny McBride feels some of the pressure from nostalgic fans that will undoubtedly see the film, and spread a good or rotten word about it. In his words:
In this day and age, Hollywood is tapping into so many beloved franchises that it seems like any time anything comes out there's the contingency of people that are stoked, and the contingency of people that are fucking pissed off and saying you ruined their childhood somehow. I hope this thing tips more into the world of people liking it. I hope we don't ruin too many childhoods.
In his recent conversation with Indiewire, Danny McBride perfectly explains the polarity of opinions that often come along with adapting already adored franchises. Despite his lengthy career on TV and as a writer, McBride is still likely best known for his appearances on Seth Rogan-led films such as Pineapple Express and This is the End. So this transition into building upon a horror classic with fellow comedy writers David Gordon Green and Jeff Fradley is a bold move. But if the magnificently horrifying trailer is any indication, the filmmakers have completely embraced paying tribute to John Carpenter's 1978 movie, with some deep-cut references already spotted by fans. The new Halloween is a direct sequel to the first movie, ignoring all other entries into the franchise and marks the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as scream queen Laurie Strode.
Unfortunately, filmmakers and stars are often met with backlash on social media when fans are unhappy with the end-product of their projects. After the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in December 2017, the movie received quite a bit of hate on social media with director Rian Johnson and actress Kelly Marie Tran getting the bulk of it. So much negativity was directed on Tran that she decided to leave social media altogether. 2016's Ghostbusters reboot starring funny-women Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon also was disgraced by some male fans, who discerned that replacing the characters with women was "ruining their childhood." That particular comment plagued the project, with McCarthy and her other costars stricking down these comments as sexist.
Whether or not you thought these releases were childhood ruining, Halloween looks to be a franchise addition that is going to deliver some amazing fan service to those who grew up loving the original. The new sequel will pick up right where the original left off, closely using it as an inspiration. The comment section is often rid with hate anyways, so the hurtful words of few likely doesn't reflect the public as a whole. Halloween comes to theaters on October 19, 2018.
