Hopefully, this October will see the release of the latest entry in the Halloween saga Halloween Kills. A direct sequel to the critically lauded 2018 restart. It has been a longtime question for the franchise and Michael Myers in particular. The series has only deterred directly from Michael Myers once. The result was a resounding rejection by fans of the franchise. The franchise, and its fanbase, have certainly grown since 1982. It’s been a long time since a franchise as beloved by the masses has done anything as risky as replacing its “mascot.”

Michael Myers

Michael Myers has been the franchise’s face, surviving through its sequels, reboots, and remakes. Unlike most other horror franchises, such as Texas Chainsaw and A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween had developed plans to move away from its mascot. Originally series co-creator John Carpenter had envisioned a series of anthology tales, each set on Halloween night. Since the poor reception from Halloween 3, those plans were abandoned. A Halloween 4 was quickly developed to continue the character’s story with a complete retcon explaining Michael’s survival. The character proved to be too much of a franchise attractor at the time to be sidelined. 

The horror genre evolved over the last 30 plus years. Today’s fans want something different than they had in the 80s. With audiences’ attention geared more towards an evolving story and likable protagonist. While Michael’s effect on the series characters will maintain, there are opportunities to move the franchise forward. 

There seems to be no end in sight as producer Jason Blum has already committed to more sequels pending Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends’ success. There is no doubt that for many fans Michael Myers, the Shape, represents the franchise.