Will The Halloween Sequels End The Franchise?

The upcoming sequels to director David Gordon Green's Halloween reboot promise that the saga of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode will conclude, but will they serve as the end of the entire franchise?

Green and screenwriter Danny McBride had a chat with Collider about the two new movies — Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, set to bring chills and thrills to theaters in October 2020 and October 2021, respectively — and whether the horror film series will truly be done when the final frame of the second sequel fades to black. 

The verdict? While the third Halloween pic directed by Green carries the "Ends" subtitle, McBride isn't sure that movie will mark the definitive conclusion. The only person who can make that call is John Carpenter, the director of the original Halloween film who served as the executive producer and composer of the 2018 reboot and will be involved in the forthcoming flicks. 

"I think, ultimately, Michael Myers is such an iconic character that no one besides Carpenter is ever gonna have ownership over him. This will be our chance at the table to play with these characters, and I'm sure that, when we're done, other people will come in and do the same thing, or have their own reinvention," said McBride. "Michael Myers is iconic enough to allow that, too. He's like James Bond, where you can have different actors and different filmmakers. He represents something so simple and scary that he can be translated by lots of different people."

Green agreed that the door will remain open for the Halloween franchise to continue after Halloween Ends if that's what other directors and writers choose to do (with Carpenter's blessing, of course), but he did confirm that there will be no additional films featuring Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode in conflict with Michael Myers. 

"They're never done telling the Frankenstein story, and at this point, Michael Myers is a classic movie monster. But our Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode/Michael Myers saga will be done," Green explained. "The fun of it is also seeing it end and knowing that it can. If you just keep trying to elongate it and milk it for all of the money, then that's boring."

Taking both perspectives into account, we can understand exactly where McBride and Green are coming from. Michael Myers has become larger than life (and has possessed some inhuman abilities in certain Halloween sequels, which the reboot thankfully ignored) and has earned legendary horror movie villain status since first not-so-gracefully gracing the silver screen in the late '70s. He's been through many narratives, taken down countless adversaries, and continued freaking everyone the heck out. The masked murderer also doesn't seem to ever die no matter how hard someone tries to kill him, so there's a good chance that he may make it out of Halloween Ends alive. While some may maintain the belief that Michael Myers should be put to rest after Halloween Ends, some will probably be happy to see him continue his killing spree. Heck, maybe the real Mike actually will bite the bullet in Halloween Ends and then some crazed fan of his will follow in his footsteps, becoming a copycat killer in a future movie. Anything can happen, but what unequivocally won't is another battle between Laurie and Michael. Poor woman's been through enough — it's about time she had a rest. 

Halloween Kills is set to open on October 16, 2020. Nearly a year later, Halloween Ends will debut on October 15, 2021.