Halloween Kills: Everything We Know About The Next Halloween Movie

When a low-budget horror movie with a mostly unknown cast and the seemingly generic title of Halloween hit theaters on the weekend of October 25, 1978, no one could have anticipated the impact it would have. John Carpenter's film went on to become one of the most successful independent movies of all time, grossing $70 million worldwide with a budget of $300,000. And just as notably, it was a key part of the first wave of slasher movies that would dominate horror for the next few years.

Inevitably, many sequels, reboots, and remakes followed, with varying degrees of critical and commercial success. But no matter how bad some of the later Halloween movies are, Michael Myers--aka The Shape--is truly one of the great horror characters, leading filmmakers to regularly look for new ways to kickstart the series for the next generation of horror fans.

The latest movie, simply titled Halloween, arrived in October 2018. It had been nine years since the last one--Rob Zombie's much-maligned Halloween 2--which was the longest gap ever between movies. But there was much to be hopeful for. It was produced by Blumhouse, the production company with a long stream of horror hits behind them, including Get Out, Paranormal Activity, and The Purge. It was directed by acclaimed filmmaker David Gordon Green, who co-write the script with comedian, actor, and horror fan Danny McBride. And most excitingly, both John Carpenter and original star Jamie Lee Curtis were involved.

Carpenter had not been involved with a Halloween movie since 1983, but in this case, he was a creative adviser as well as writing a new music score. And Curtis returned to reprise her role as Laurie Strode, in a movie that would act as a direct sequel to the original film. Halloween 2018 proved to be a box office smash, making $255 million worldwide and setting the stage for an inevitable sequel.

After some teasing, not one but two new Halloween movies were announced in July 2019--Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends. Both films were shot back-to-back in late 2019, with their release dates set for October 2020 and October 2021 respectively. Of course, plans have changed since then, but Halloween Kills is nevertheless set to appear next year. So here's everything we know to date about the next movie in the long-running horror series...

Halloween Kills is set for a release on October 15, 2021, having been delayed from its initial date in October 2020.

The main cast members from 2018's Halloween are set to return for the next film. Jamie Lee Curtis is back as Laurie Strode, with Judy Greer as Laurie's daughter Karen Nelson, and

Andi Matichak as Karen's daughter Allyson Nelson. Both Nick Castle and James Jude Courtney will play Michael once more, while Jibrail Nantambu will appear as Julian Morrisey, Omar Dorcey as Sheriff Barker, and Dylan Arnold as Allyson's ex-boyfriend Cameron.

Even more excitingly for fans, a number of actors from earlier Halloween movies are set to return. Nancy Stephens will play Marion Chambers, the former assistant to Dr. Sam Loomis, once more. Stephens played this role in 1978's Halloween 2 and again in 1998's Halloween H20, where she was killed in the opening credits. Luckily, Halloween Kills is in a different timeline, so Nurse Chambers is still with us (for now). Charles Cyphers will reprise his role as Leigh Brackett, the Sheriff from the original film, and Kyle Richards returns as Lindsey Wallace. Lindsey was one of the kids that Laurie is babysitting in the original films, and Richards was only 9 when she appeared in that movie.

Tommy Doyle, who Laurie was also babysitting, returns but this time he'll be played by Anthony Michael Hall (The Dark Knight). Other new stars include Robert Longstreet (Doctor Sleep) as Cameron's dad Lonnie, and Brian F. Durkin (The Highwaymen) as Deputy Graham.

David Gordon Green is once again returning to the director's chair for Halloween Kills, as well as Halloween Ends. Prior to 2018's movie, Green was known for his dramas and comedies, but the movie's success proved that he has serious horror chops too.

Green has once more written the script for Halloween Kills with Danny McBride. This time the pair have teamed up with a third writer--Scott Teems, who has also penned the upcoming new adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter for Blumhouse.

While a full trailer for Halloween Kills is yet to be released, the clips so far and interviews with the cast and crew have revealed some details. While Michael's fate at the end of last year's film seemed fairly conclusive, anyone who has seen a Halloween film--or indeed, any slasher movie--before should know that there's no such thing as a conclusive death of a masked killer. Halloween Kills is set to pick up immediately after the end of its predecessor. Michael is still out there, but it sounds like he will be the hunted figure this time round. McBride previously hinted that all the characters that are returning from earlier films will team up with Laurie to put a stop to Michael once and for all.

Curtis also hinted at the film's direction in an interview with SiriusXM, stating that the movie explores how tragedy "infects an entire community." She said, "When you see it, it's a seething group of people moving through the story as a big angry group. It's really, really, really intense."

Carpenter has confirmed that he'll be providing the score for both new Halloween movies. His original Halloween theme is one of the most iconic pieces of horror music ever, and Halloween 2018's creepy cues proved he's lost none of his touch for unsettling music.

What do we know about Halloween Ends?

The third in Green's Halloween movies was originally set for release in October 2021, and has now moved to October 2022. Although it was shot back-to-back with Kills, unsurprisingly almost nothing about it has been revealed so far. It will have different writers, however, with Chris Benier (The House) and Paul Brad Logan (Manglehorn) co-writing this one with Green and McBride.

As all horror fans know, slasher movie villains never truly die; they just hang around until the next sequel/remake/reboot. While Green and McBride have confirmed that Halloween Ends will close out this particular story, Michael Myers is sure to return sooner or later in another Halloween movie. After all, there had been nine films in the franchise (excluding the non-Myers Halloween III) before last year's entry even hit theaters. As McBride himself said: "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."