David Gordon Green’s Halloween sequel is officially in the can.
After a relatively brief spell in front of the cameras, during which time Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode) shared scores of set photos, filming on the pic has now wrapped and to celebrate, the folks over at Halloween Daily News caught up with James Jude Courtney to discuss his role as Michael Myers/The Shape.
For those who don’t know, it was Nick Castle who played the horror icon all the way back in the original film released in 1978. Well, at least for most of the picture. You see, Tony Moran filled in when Michael was shown to be unmasked, something we’re wondering if they’ll repeat in the upcoming sequel.
As you may know, the latest crack at the bat acknowledges only the events depicted in John Carpenter’s original movie that we just mentioned, effectively ignoring all that followed. Given that, it makes sense that we see an older Michael Myers, thus making Castle’s return more than fitting. Still, Courtney has also been enlisted for the same role, doing most of the physical stuff/stunt work that his co-star is too old for.
But we digress. While speaking to Halloween Daily News, the actor explained what it was like wearing the iconic mask for the first time, saying:
“David [Gordon Green], Danny [McBride], Jeff [Fradley], Mike [Simmonds], Rawn [Hutchinson], and myself, we all walked off to a room to the side where nobody could see it, and Chris [Nelson] pulled out the mask, and he said, ‘Okay Jim, let’s put it on and see what it feels like,'” Courtney recalled to Halloween Daily News. “So I walk over and he puts it on me and fastens it in for me, and I was like, ‘Whoa.’ David goes, ‘What does it feel like, Jim?’ I said, (lowers voice to a near-whisper) ‘It’s perfect for killing.’ It was perfect.”
Continuing on, Courtney said he’ll never forget the first time he put the mask on:
“And all the sudden, this thing happened to me inside. I had already created the energy, I already knew the space, but man that was like afterburns, dude. And the love, it’s more than just the beauty of the art that Christopher created when he did the mask, it’s all that knowledge he put into it, and somehow he imbued all the history, the 40 years of history and all the work that all the people have done, and all the fans’ expectations and love. I felt all of that. I will never forget the first time I put that mask on.”
On October 19th, Halloween will cordially invite viewers back to Haddonfield for another round of thrills, spills and supernatural chills, and we can hardly wait.
