The Halloween franchise has been going on in one form or another for decades, but it found renewed life with the recent Halloween movie that acted jointly as both a sequel and a reboot. Now, we're set to get two more Halloween movies that will act as sequels to that film, and another character from the original movie is coming back, as Anthony Michael Hall has been cast as Tommy Doyle.
Tommy Doyle was one of the children that Jamie Lee Curtis' character Laurie Strode was babysitting in the original film, the night that Michael Myers began to viciously murder people. In the original Halloween timeline, an adult Tommy returned to the franchise in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, the sixth film in the franchise. There Tommy fought Myers himself, and was played by one Paul Rudd.
Of course, in the timeline of the new Halloween, none of the sequels ever happened, and so now Tommy Doyle doesn't grow up to become Paul Rudd, but instead he becomes Anthony Michael Hall.
Hall is still best known for his work as a teenager in classic 80s comedies like The Breakfast Club, but he's been working regularly as an adult and has had roles in films like Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and Netflix's War Machine.
Variety doesn't report on any details beyond the casting, so we don't know exactly what the plan is for Tommy Doyle in Halloween Kills. He could be a major character who gets reunited with Laurie to fight the returning Michael Myers, or he could end up killed by Michael in the opening minutes of the film before we get to the title card.
The former is somewhat more likely. If there was an expectation that this was nothing more than a cameo it wouldn't be much in the way of news. And besides, while Anthony Michael Hall has been no stranger to film, what he hasn't had in a while is a meaty role on the big screen. Seeing him join the Halloween franchise, a film series that was first popular around the same time that the actor was a star, would be somewhat fitting.
Halloween Kills is the second in what has already been announced as a planned trilogy that follows the original Halloween. Halloween Ends, will follow Kills a year after the next movie. It appears that Anthony Michael Hall is only confirmed to appear in Kills at this point, which makes sense. Even Nick Castle, the man playing Michael Myers himself, has only confirmed his appearance in the next movie. The plan is clearly to keep the third movie under wraps to avoid spoilers for the second one.
David Gordon Green will return to direct Halloween Kills and the film will star Jamie Lee Curtis. Halloween Kills is set to hit theaters October 16, 2020.
