Jamie Lee Curtis has said her farewells to the Halloween franchise after 44 years in the role as she previewed the upcoming Halloween Ends — as well as potentially spoiling it.
Curtis got her breakout role from the original Halloween in 1978 and has gone on to become a massive star across genres. One of the most notable scream queens ever, she’s made it clear she doesn’t expect to be coming back anytime soon. Speaking at New York Comic-Con, Curtis got very emotional as she came to terms with the end of the franchise.
She reminisced on stage with Drew Barrymore on the role which made her, with her reflecting on one of the first times she saw the film with an audience and her strong belief in how it shaped the horror experience for decades to come in cinema.
“I went into a theater in Hollywood, a late-night Theater in Hollywood. It was a packed house, it was around Halloween, and I stood in the back. A woman in the middle stood up and went: ‘Don’t go in there! There is a killer in that house!’ It was like the moment the theater was released and the whole theater started the audience participation that we now know is a horror movie experience.
That’s what [director John Carpenter] meant by wanting [Laurie Strode] to be vulnerable, so you cared about her and didn’t want her to get hurt. And you haven’t wanted me to get hurt for 44 years.”
Getting increasingly emotional upon realizing the impending fate of both her and her character, Curtis spoke of how when she dies, she will be forever intertwined with her Laurie Strode character. She may have also let slip a very important part of her character’s future
“You know, one of these days, hopefully not tomorrow, but you know, I’m 64. Do the math, it is not in my favor. Sooner or later, it is going to say three words: ‘Halloween actress dies.’ Of course, she’s gonna die but when she dies my point is that it is the permanent ink of my life, it is you guys, it is the permanent saturation into me.”
It’s hard to tell if she’s just speaking in hypotheticals and became too indulged in the moment, but it’s a heart-warming look into how Curtis feels fans have shaped her career. Original director John Carpenter remarked in the past he doesn’t think this will be the end of the franchise, saying “if you take a dollar sign and attach it to anything, there will be somebody who wants to do a sequel”.
Whether or not this will be the end remains to be seen, as Halloween Ends debuts in cinemas Oct. 14
