Did you really think you could get rid of Michael Myers that easily? It might have taken longer than expected but the iconic slasher villain is coming back to theaters in Halloween Kills. The twelfth movie in the Halloween franchise, Halloween Kills is a direct sequel to 2018's Halloween.
Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode in the new slasher film, which has been directed by David Gordon Green and written by Green, Danny McBride, and Scott Teems. Halloween Kills will continue The Shape’s rampage and show how the people of Haddonfield finally come together to fight back against their tormentor.
The movie also features music by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies. The trio previously worked on the 2018 soft-reboot/sequel as well. And in case you didn’t know, John Carpenter also directed, scored, and co-wrote the original 1978 Halloween. Considering how successful and acclaimed the 2018 movie was, there’s a lot of expectations riding on Halloween Kills. Read on for all the details that have been revealed so far about the movie, including release dates, plot, characters, and more.
Halloween Kills Trailer
So far, Universal Pictures has released two teasers and one full-length trailer for Halloween Kills. You can check out all three videos here. The first teaser picks up immediately after 2018’s Halloween and shows firetrucks heading to Laurie’s burning house, even as she screams at them to “Let him burn.”
The second teaser was released on October 30, 2020, with just a few hints about the carnage to come. The full trailer was released on June 25, 2021. It goes into greater detail about how Michael survived the fire and teases more of the upcoming movie’s graphic violence. We also see the Strode family leading the people of Haddonfield on a mission to hunt the killer down once and for all.
When Is Halloween Kills’s Release Date?
Halloween Kills is currently scheduled to arrive in US theaters on October 15, 2021. Before that, the movie will have its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2021. Halloween Kills was originally supposed to premiere nearly a year before, on October 16, 2020. The movie was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic but now it does look like Halloween Kills will be able to make its current release date.
Who Is in Halloween Kills’s Cast?
Halloween Kills features returning cast members from both the 2018 and 1978 movies. Besides Jamie Lee Curtis, the movie’s cast also includes Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Anthony Michael Hall, James Jude Courtney, and Nick Castle.
Other cast members appearing in Halloween Kills are Thomas Mann, Airon Armstrong, Kyle Richards, Nancy Stephens, Robert Longstreet, Lonnie Elam, Charles Cyphers, Dylan Arnold, Jibrail Nantambu, Omar Dorsey, Brian F. Durkin, David Lowe, Carmela McNeal, Michael Smallwood, Diva Tyler, Lenny Clarke, Salem Collins, and Ryan Lewis.
Who Are the Confirmed Characters Returning in Halloween Kills?
Jamie Lee Curtis headlines the movie as Laurie Strode, continuing her story from where the 2018 movie left off. One of the earliest “final girl” characters in the slasher movie genre, Laurie was the only survivor of Michael’s 1978 rampage. Judy Greer plays Laurie’s daughter Karen Nelson while Andi Matichak plays Karen’s daughter Allyson. The three women are set to be the main characters of Halloween Kills. Besides them, there are going to be quite a few characters from the previous movies appearing in Halloween Kills.
Will Patton will be reprising his role from the previous movie as Deputy Frank Hawkins. Hawkins is also the cop who arrested Michael way back in 1978. Thomas Mann plays the young Frank Hawkins.
Anthony Michael Hall appears as Tommy Doyle, one of the kids Laurie was babysitting in 1978. In the original 1978 film, the character was played by Brian Andrews. Paul Rudd also played the character in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, now no longer part of the continuity.
Kyle Richards reprises her role as Lindsey Wallace from the 1978 film. She is one of Tommy's friends and was also one of the kids Laurie babysat in the original.
Nancy Stephens appears as Marion Chambers, the retired former assistant of Donald Pleasence’s Dr. Sam Loomis. She also played the character in the 1978 movie, and the films Halloween II and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. Both of those latter films are no longer canon.
Robert Longstreet plays Lonnie Elam and Dylan Arnold plays his son Cameron Elam, who is also Allyson’s ex-boyfriend. Lonnie bullied Tommy Doyle as a child in 1978 and was played by Brent Le Page in the original movie. The younger Lonnie will be portrayed by Tristian Eggerling.
Charles Cyphers will appear as Leigh Brackett, having played the same role in the 1978 movie. Brackett is the former sheriff of Haddonfield. His daughter Annie (Nancy Kyes) was one of Michael’s victims in 1978. Brackett hunted Michael alongside Dr. Loomis in the original movie.
Reprising their roles from the 2018 movie, we have Jibrail Nantambu, Omar Dorsey, and Brian F. Durkin as Julian Morrisey, Sheriff Barker, and Deputy Graham respectively.
And last but definitely not least, James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle will return as Michael Myers / The Shape. Airon Armstrong will play the young Michael Myers.
Will Halloween Kills Have a Sequel?
Yes, Halloween Ends was announced at the same time as Halloween Kills. When it comes out, the movie will be the thirteenth Halloween movie. Halloween Ends is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on October 14, 2022.
When Is Halloween Kills Filming?
Filming on the movie began on September 16, 2019, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Production continued for two more months and concluded on November 3, 2019. Reports from the set have revealed that at least one car wreck scene and multiple gunfire sequences were filmed in Wilmington.
Luckily, the coronavirus pandemic did not interfere with filming, even though it delayed its release. According to Andi Matichak, Halloween Ends was also supposed to be filmed immediately after the production wrapped. However, those plans were eventually scrapped.
When Does Halloween Kills Take Place?
Halloween Kills will pick up immediately after Halloween (the 2018 one). Based on the trailers, it looks like the new movie will pick up literally minutes after the last one. Clearly, it’s going to be a really long Halloween night in Haddonfield. Danny McBride confirmed in 2018 that the original plan was to film both the movies back to back.
"We were going to shoot two of them back-to-back,” he told EW. “Then we were like, 'Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. This could come out, and everyone could hate us, and we'd never work again. So, let's not have to sit around for a year while we wait for another movie to come out that we know people aren't going to like.' So, we were like, 'Let's learn from this, and see what works, and what doesn't.' But we definitely have an idea of where we would go [with] this branch of the story and hopefully we get a chance to do it."
What Is the Halloween Kills Plot?
As it turns out, no one told the fire department that Laurie was barbecuing Michael in her basement. Michael survives the fire and kills a whole bunch of people, setting off on a new killing spree. But now, Laurie and her family have had enough and so have the rest of the people Michael has victimized over the years.
So far like almost all slasher villains, Michael has always been in control. In Halloween Kills, Michael’s former targets band together to turn the tables on the murdering madman. Here’s the official synopsis from Universal Pictures:
“And the night when Michael Myers returns isn't over.
Minutes after Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked monster Michael Myers caged and burning in Laurie's basement, Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor.
But when Michael manages to free himself from Laurie's trap, his ritual bloodbath resumes. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against their unstoppable monster.
The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael’s first rampage who decide to take matters into their own hands, forming a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all.
Evil dies tonight.”
It looks like the story is really going to escalate in the upcoming movie. Halloween Kills is expected to ramp up the kill count and heighten the stakes considerably. Jamie Lee Curtis has described the new movie as ”really, really, really intense” and “a masterpiece.”
This is going to be Michael Myers at his deadliest facing off against all the people who have spent their lives in fear because of him. Will The Shape survive to kill another day? Probably, because there’s a sequel. But there’s really no telling how the movie will go or how far it will push its characters until it finally arrives on the big screen.