‘Halloween’: John Carpenter Talked David Gordon Green Out of Re-Filming 1978 Ending for the New Sequel
Zack Sharf
David Gordon Green had an idea for his upcoming “Halloween” sequel to feature the original ending of John Carpenter‘s 1978 horror classic, but it was one part of Green’s movie Carpenter himself knew wasn’t a good idea. As Green shared with Bloody Disgusting, his original plan heading into production on the sequel was to film Carpenter’s “Halloween” ending from a different perspective.
“[We] assumed everybody was going to need a little bit to get back up to speed with where we are,” Green said about the idea, “and we haven’t seen the movie in a long time or we’ve never seen the movie, had to invite everyone to the party and that kind of thing. We kept pushing it off.”
In order to film the original “Halloween” ending from a different perspective, one Green said would have been an overhead shot of the events, the director planned to use body doubles and CGI to recreate the younger versions of the characters played by Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence. The director convinced one of the sequel’s art directors to stand in for Pleasence’s Dr. Loomis, who shoots Michael Myers at the end of Carpenter’s film, only for the serial killer to mysteriously vanish.
“There was conversation of utilizing footage from the original film and digitally altering it so we got some other interesting elements,” Green said. “All this stuff starts to cost money and when you look at what we’re trying to do, do you need the gimmick? Do you need the exposition? Do you need the setup?”
“Jamie would’ve recreated, with a blend of Jamie and a body double similar to 19-year-old Jamie,” Green added, confirming the plan got as far as getting Curtis to help out. “We had all these ideas.”
Fortunately, Carpenter stepped in to tell Green that re-showing the events of the first film just wasn’t needed, either for longtime fans of the franchise or new viewers.
“This was Carpenter actually calming me down on set,” Green said. “I’m like, ‘Nobody’s going to know what’s happening and where we’re coming from.’ He’s like, ‘Just trust ‘em and leave ‘em alone and let ‘em figure it out.’”
“Halloween” opens in theaters nationwide October 19 via Universal Pictures.
