Halloween creator John Carpenter has suggested that the franchise's next two installments could be released on streaming due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and its effect on theatres.
In an interview with NME, the legendary film director and composer admitted that Halloween Kills, which is due to launch October 15, 2021, may have to be released on a streaming platform if theaters remain closed for the foreseeable future. Lamenting the loss of the traditional cinema going experience due to COVID-19's impact, Carpenter said that Halloween Kills and its sequel, Halloween Ends, might make the leap to streaming rather than have their releases postponed until theater doors are unlocked.
Asked about plans for both Halloween sequels, Carpenter said, “Halloween may be shared that way because theatres are dead," Carpenter said. "It’s just the reality right now. And it’s a tragedy, but it’s true. We just have to face it. The studio did contact [director] David [Gordon Green] and I, and they had us put off the new one by a year in the hope that things got better. So we’re still hoping it will get better.”
Halloween Kills, which is the follow-up to 2018's Halloween, was initially set for release on October 16, 2020, but Universal pushed its launch back by 12 months in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Movie studios have had to adapt to the impact of the virus over the past year, with companies like Warner Bros. opting for simultaneous theater and HBO Max releases of their 2021 movie slate.
Warner Bros. has drawn fierce criticism over the move since its December 2020 announcement, with Tenet director Christoper Nolan calling HBO Max "the worst streaming service" and Dune director Denis Villeneueve saying the decision was a "desperate attempt to grab the audience's attention". Carpenter, though, believes this is only the beginning of big studios releasing their movies on different platforms. “These guys are making decisions that they consider in their best interests," he said. "This is what they see the future is going to be like and so to get these things out they think this is the best way to do it.”
We awarded 2018's Halloween a 9/10 review, saying it was a "great sequel that offers thrills, kills, and even plenty of laughs."
Tom Power is a UK-based freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter.
