Back in February the news broke that Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan would finally be writing the unusually delayed next Halloween movie, Halloween Returns. In June it was confirmed that Dunstan would also direct. And now Dunstan has given a very candid interview to the bloggers at The Myers Fan about exactly what he has in mind for the franchise.
Regarding the title, Dunstan says it was supposed to have a colon, putting a different emphasis on "Returns" as a subtitle. "If you commit a violent act, sometimes you get returns," he explains. "What are the repercussions of being a violent entity? In that case, Halloween: Returns could mean a number of things."
He says he wants the film to stand alone, citing Aliens as a film he quite happily watched as a kid with no idea it was a sequel. But he also says his Halloween will follow the first original three instalments. That casued some confusion - Halloween III is a separate story that has nothing to do with Michael Myers' killing spree - until Dunstan clarified on Twitter that he was talking aesthetically. "[Directors] John Carpenter, Rick Rosenthal and Tommy Lee Wallace all brought passion and fire to the series," he believes. "Love was in the flames!" He says he'd like to shoot Halloween Returns on film.
Elsewhere in the 20-minute podcast Dunstan says he's hoping to cast Gillian Jacobs in an unspecified role: "She's known for all this comedy on Community, and yet I didn't know her from Community first; I knew her from a movie called Gardens Of The Night, which is one of the most wrenching dramas, and she's excellent. I thought, 'I wonder if this great performer would do that again, would like to go there,' and I think so..."
And while he says the film will be violent, he also insists that "Michael Myers is subtlety and suspense". He references the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, which gave us a couple of old friends back in their rightful context. "We want that Han and Chewie moment."
Dunstan and Melton are the writing team behind Saws IV-VII, the Feast films and Piranha 3DD. Halloween Returns - the eleventh Halloween - won't be Dunstan's first gig behind the camera, however. He made his debut with The Collector in 2009, followed by its sequel The Collection in 2012.
There's still nothing officially known about the film's plot or angle, other than that it's planned as a "recalibration" of the Halloween series. Bloody Disgusting are sticking to a synopsis of unclear origin that involves two now grown-up children of Michael Myers' victims sneaking into death row to watch the slasher's execution, but finding themselves in hot water when everything goes awry and Myers, of course, escapes. That remains unconfirmed.
It's certain, of course, that Halloween Returns will involve Michael Myers on a stalk-and-slash on or around October 31. Beyond that, solid details will no doubt start emerging soon. Pre-production is underway for a release sometime next year. You'd assume Halloween, but Rob Zombie's came out on Labor Day. Go figure.