Halloween Franchise Being Shopped Around Hollywood
The Halloween film franchise is being shopped around Hollywood by Miramax. According to Bloody Disgusting, Miramax has the top contenders for the property rights in a bidding war as several different parties are interested in bringing Michael Myers back to life. Per the report, Miramax is open to film and television projects and is currently taking offers from studios and streamers.
Since the release of John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s Halloween in 1978, the franchise has evolved into one of the most cherished yet intricately woven cinematic series. The original movie introduced audiences to Michael Myers, who escapes from a mental institution, returns to his hometown, and terrorizes babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis).
Due to its storied big screen history, the Halloween franchise is likely to be revived as a series, with a story that focuses on a younger Michael Myers.
A direct sequel, Halloween II, was produced in 1981, which was succeeded by 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch. This third installment took the story away from Michael Myers, which left fans disappointed. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers were introduced to resurrect the iconic character.
The seventh entry, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, acted as a sequel to Halloween II, disregarding the events of the preceding three films. It was followed by Halloween: Resurrection. In 2007, Rob Zombie undertook the task of rebooting the franchise with his movies Halloween and Halloween 2, offering a fresh interpretation of the core storyline with Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode.
A monumental bidding war has reportedly broken out in Hollywood as Miramax shops around the rights to the Halloween franchise.
In 2018, David Gordon Green began a trilogy of films that marked the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, with John Carpenter on board as a producer. These films were a direct continuation of the original Halloween, disregarding all previous sequels. With Halloween Ends concluding Laurie Strode’s storyline, the future of the series holds the potential to explore related themes and characters.
Due to its storied big screen history, the Halloween franchise is likely to be revived as a series, with a story that focuses on a younger Michael Myers. Given the recent surge in television adaptations of slasher franchises, this prospect holds significant credibility. Shows like Chucky and the upcoming Friday the 13th have demonstrated the appeal of adapting popular horror properties for the small screen.
A series could also work since the Michael Myers character doesn’t have a strong association with any specific actor, despite Nick Castle’s portrayal in the original film and the recent Halloween trilogy. Over the years, several different actors have assumed the role, depicting Myers at different stages of life and in various scenarios.
Since the release of John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s Halloween in 1978, the franchise has evolved into one of the most cherished yet intricately woven cinematic series.
As such, it would be relatively easy to recast the character rather than attempting to reimagine Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode. Furthermore, a Halloween series would allow the franchise to join the ranks of prominent 1980s slasher franchises that have made their mark on television, such as Friday the 13th: The Series, released in 1987, and the 1988 Freddy Krueger-hosted anthology show Freddy’s Nightmares.
Bringing Halloween’s Michael Myers into the realm of streaming would propel the franchise into entirely new narrative directions while reviving some of the older films in the series.
