Will Halloween Ends Actually Be The End Of The Franchise?
Michael Myers finally came roaring back to theaters in a way the iconic horror movie villain deserved with 2018's "Halloween." The simplified title told audiences that this would be a return to form for the franchise, and indeed, it was. Instead of trying to tie all of the sequels into the canon of the film, the reboot was merely a sequel to the original 1978 film, picking up with Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) many years after that terrifying night. Michael Myers is back, and he won't be easy to kill, as suggested by the existence of two sequels, namely "Halloween Kills" and "Halloween Ends."
The former came out last year, while the latter is slated to release in theaters on October 14, 2022. The title of "Halloween Ends" certainly seems to suggest that this will be the end of the new franchise, but as horror aficionados know all too well, wherever there's money to be made, movie productions won't be too far behind. After all, multiple "Friday the 13th" films came out after "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter."
Now, both John Carpenter and Jason Blum have commented on the franchise's future, and there's a chance we could have more Michael Myers down the pipeline.
Neither John Carpenter nor Jason Blum know what the future of Halloween entails
As of this moment, it's unclear if the "Halloween" franchise will continue after "Halloween Ends." Franchise creator John Carpenter, who also serves as executive producer on the most recent trilogy, spoke with ComicBook.com about the plan for the series after this year. Carpenter was pragmatic in his response, "Let me explain the movie business to you: if you take a dollar sign and attach it to anything, there will be somebody who wants to do a sequel. It will live. If the dollar sign is not big enough, no matter what, it will not live."
Naturally, it sounds like it all comes down to money, and if someone wants to milk the franchise for a few more bucks, it will carry on. But Carpenter has no idea what will happen after the next installment. "I don't know, man," he continued. "I don't know. This time, I do not know. They really want to end. They're going to shut it off, end it. It's what [director] David [Gordon Green] has in mind. That's fine." Producer Jason Blum had a similar response last year when asked about the future of the films after "Halloween Ends," "I would love to extend it. If [producer] Malek [Akkad] would like us, I'd love to extend it, but we're very busy making sure the third movie is spectacular because that's our immediate job and if it goes beyond that, I'd be thrilled. But there are currently no plans for us to be involved after this third movie."
2018's "Halloween" grossed over $250 million against a $10 million budget. Meanwhile, "Halloween Kills" grossed $130 million worldwide, but that opened in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is clearly a profitable franchise still, and if "Halloween Ends" nails the landing, there's a serious possibility more Michael Myers could be in our future.