Halloween Ends Won't Be Answering One Major Michael Myers Question
The "Halloween" movies have gone through so many ups and downs that, after sitting through them all, it starts to feel like even the silliest installments in the franchise rock. The one where LL Cool J plays a security guard who writes erotica and Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) kills Michael a half-dozen times like a Looney Tune character? It rocks! The one where Michael Myers is nowhere to be found and there's a children's TV show that activates Halloween masks microchipped with pieces of Stonehenge, making kids' faces rot off? That rocks!
So as someone who's sat through the Cult of Thorn, "Dangertainment," and a flow chart of sequel timelines that would take an hour to explain, I feel comfortable saying that the weirder "Halloween Ends" sounds, the more entertained I am by it. The new film is ostensibly meant as the end of the trilogy David Gordon Green began in 2018, although there's already been a significant amount of murmuring about how the franchise never really dies. While Michael Myers' fate is unclear ahead of the movie's October release, one thing is clear: This film is about to make some capital-c Choices.
Previous press for "Halloween Ends" has already revealed some intriguing details about the new movie. Starting with a four year time jump, the film will reportedly incorporate the COVID-19 pandemic, include what sounds like a secondary antagonist, and, according to Curtis, "make people very angry." It won't, however, clue audiences into what unkillable villain Michael Myers has been up to during the off season. "It's like: I don't want to see where Jaws goes to sleep at night when I'm watching a shark movie," Gordon told Total Film (per Comic Book Resources) in a recent interview, after confirming the film doesn't explain Michael's absence.
We won't get an explanation, but will get DJ Willy the Kid
Personally, I think Michael Myers' day-to-day life would be interesting. Based on the time Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) implied that he eats dogs, his complicated psychological profile re: his sister, and the fact that he's still readjusting to life outside of prison, it seems like there's a lot to explore there. Also, he seems impervious to fatal injury, so is he out there sticking his hand in garbage disposals like Claire from "Heroes" just because he can? Luckily, even though the writers of "Halloween Ends" don't seem inclined to answer these questions, they are willing to throw a bone to weirdo overthinkers like me.
"We have a radio disc jockey who is full of conspiracy theories about Michael," Green told Total Film, describing a character who is evidently named DJ Willy the Kid (played by Keraun Harris). "Where's he been? Is he supernatural? If as an audience member you're not wondering it, you will be." I am, so I'm thrilled to be introduced to Willy the Kid, even if a conspiracy theorist DJ definitely sounds like it could nudge "Halloween Ends" further into wacky sequel territory than it already is. The character sounds like he could provide a good source of meta-humor for a franchise that sometimes can take itself too seriously.
We'll all find out how this story ends (or doesn't) soon enough, as "Halloween Ends" hits theaters and Peacock premium on October 14, 2022.