Dimension Films and Trancas International Films announced today that Halloween Returns, the next installment in the landmark Halloween horror franchise, will roll cameras this July, cementing Michael Myers’ long-awaited return to the big screen.
Saw writers Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton penned the script for the new take, which is said to act as a “recalibration” for the series. Dunstan, the mastermind behind horror duology The Collector and The Collection, is also directing, with Malek Akkad producing.
Dunstan and Melton already have many successful collaborations under their collective belts. Their take on The Outer Limits is currently in development over at MGM, while they’ve also worked on Universal’s God of War and recently sold Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark as a pitch to CBS Films, which is still developing it into a film.
Plot details for Halloween Returns are being kept under wraps, but the script is being called “a terrifying new installment of the classic franchise originated by John Carpenter.”
Bob Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films, said:
“Michael Myers has taken a long break from the big screen and we know fans are eager to see him return. We are excited to be back in business with Trancas and look forward to bringing one of the scariest installments of this classic franchise to audiences worldwide.”
The Halloween franchise was dealt a pretty serious creative blow by Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake and 2009 sequel, both of which were pretty roundly detested (for good reason) by the series’ long-time fans. It’s unknown whether this new film will adhere to the continuity laid out by those entries or return to the continuity established by the original eight Halloween movies, but my money is on the latter, given that Dimension and Trancas are aiming to revitalize the franchise in the eyes of fans, not continue to court their ire.
