Halloween: 8 Things We Need In The Next Film

No more cults, please!

Halloween II
Universal Pictures

After years of lying dormant, the Halloween franchise is back and bigger than ever.

Halloween 2018 is in the middle of breaking all kinds of box office records for the franchise which means that we know one thing is for certain - this franchise is far from over.

As anyone who's followed the history of the series knows, a successful instalment means more sequels, and more sequels (more often than not), means diminishing returns both financially and creatively.

So as the execs at Miramax, Blumhouse, and Universal sit back and bathe in the success of their new film, they are also undoubtedly making plans for how to begin production on the next one as soon as possible. The Halloween series hasn't exactly boasted many great follow-ups, so there are plenty of examples for the producers - and potentially even David Gordon Green - to avoid.

With that in mind, these are the eight things we need to see in the next instalment of the Halloween franchise.

8. The Same Writing Team

Halloween II
HBO

When you stop to think about it, it's kind of a miracle that Halloween 2018 even exists, never mind the fact it's a genuinely great film.

Since the last Halloween film was released in theatres, there had been so many false starts that it seemed as if the franchise would never get out of development hell. Whether it be the ill-fated Halloween 3D - a direct sequel to Rob Zombie's films - or the quickly cut Halloween Returns script which was penned by genre veterans Patrick Lussier and Marcus Dunstan, the franchise just couldn't find a solid direction to go in.

Even once the rights to the franchise had reverted back to Miramax from Dimension, Miramax and Blumhouse heard dozens of pitches without being able to settle on one. That is, until the writing team of Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride, and David Gordon Green came in and pitched their take on the franchise.

The producers all fell in love with their script and it's easy to see why. Allegedly, those studios have already been meeting with potential other writers for a sequel and that's the exact wrong way to go about this, because they should be retaining the original triumvirate of Fradley, McBride and Green. This trio of writers engineered a script that was incredibly well-refined, clever, and ultimately saved the franchise from extinction.

Considering that McBride openly admitted that this team initially wanted to shoot two films back-to-back, they're definitely prepared for it.

Contributor
Contributor

A film enthusiast and writer, who'll explain to you why Jingle All The Way is a classic any day of the week.