With the announcement of John Carpenter’s return to HALLOWEEN, there is a renewed interest in the franchise and the upcoming next film which will hopefully be released sometime in October 2017.
As the months go by more and more information should be coming giving a clearer picture of what the eleventh film entry will offer.
One piece of the puzzle we now know is that Mike Flanagan (director, co-writer of the excellent HUSH) will NOT be the directing the next film.
Because of his close working relationship with Jason Blum, many speculated Flanagan would direct the next Halloween film after Blumhouse Productions and Miramax made the announcement a new film was coming.
This speculation proved to be wrong.
In Flanagan’s own words:
“I’ve already made my Halloween with Hush, Halloween is a perfect film; it’s one of my all-time favorite films, one of the films that most inspired me as a filmmaker, and I could never improve on it. The thought of trying, of following in Carpenter’s footsteps, would be too intimidating. I think Jason is going about Halloween in the right way, by not rushing, and by reaching out to Carpenter right at the beginning,” states Flanagan. “Getting Carpenter onboard was a smart thing to do, so I think they’re off to a good start. Halloween and The Thing are two of the most influential films in my life and my development as a filmmaker, and I’d be afraid to take on Halloween, because it’s so perfect. One of the reasons I did the Ouija film was because I was excited about getting the chance to improve on the first film. You can’t do that with Halloween, and I wouldn’t want to try.”
The pieces of the puzzle will keep coming together over the next fifteen months. I personally love the fact that not only is Carpenter back but there is a commitment to do this entry right and not rush the film as some previous films were.