Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode screams, “Let it burn!” in the 30 second teaser trailer for the Halloween (2018) sequel, Halloween Kills. The new video arrived along with news of a new 2021 theatrical release date.
Fans of the iconic horror film franchise can now expect to jump out of their seats on October 15, 2021 rather than in October 2020. Executive producer John Carpenter and writer/director David Gordon Green issued a joint statement explaining the decision to bump Halloween Kills back a year:
“We write this to you heartbroken over the fact that the delay of our film is even a discussion, but if there’s one thing that a career in the film industry has prepared us for, it is the unexpected. Over the past few weeks, our film family has looked at the forecast of theatrical exhibition with obvious concern. We have discussed and struggled with how best to present Halloween Kills to the loyal fans around the world, as well as the new audience we hope to invite to this experience.
It was a wild and vibrant production. We lined up a cast of legacy characters like Laurie and Tommy, Lindsey, Lonnie, Marion, Brackett and The Shape, then alongside some new faces, we aggressively made the second chapter of our Halloween trilogy. It unfolded into an experience that was a creative playground and we feel confident that our misfit pleasures will be seen as an unexpected entry into this franchise.
If we release it in October of this year as planned, we have to face the reality that the film would be consumed in a compromised theatrical experience. After weighing our options, we have chosen to push the film’s theatrical release by one year.
On top of a traditional release, Universal has agreed to an IMAX presentation of the film in October 2021. We are sound mixing with one of the greatest design teams that can slash, scream and creep their way under your skin. We’re going to have time to complete the film with the quality that fans deserve. And preparation on Halloween Ends has begun as well.
It is an honor to be working with these characters and spending time in Haddonfield. We look forward to sharing our next chapters with you.”
In addition to Jamie Lee Curtis, the cast of the now-2021 horror film includes Judy Greer as Karen, Andi Matichak as Allyson, and Dylan Arnold as Cameron Elam, with James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle as The Shape/Michael Myers. Anthony Michael Hall and Kyle Richards join the franchise as grown-up versions of the kids Laurie was babysitting in the original Halloween film – Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace. (Richards also played the original character in the 1978 film.)
