Do you have ‘Halloween’ franchise fatigue? Will Jamie Lee Curtis ditch her role?
Jamie Lee Curtis is Laurie Strode…again.
The actress is set to star in the twelfth installment of the Halloween franchise. She will once again reprise her role as Laurie Strode for the sixth time. Horror fans will of course say it’s actually her seventh appearance in the franchise because she has a cameo as a telephone operator in 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch, but that doesn’t really count.
Michael Myers has been stalking Laurie Strode for over forty years. How long will Jamie Lee Curtis remain with the horror franchise?
Halloween Kills
The latest entry in the Halloween franchise, Halloween Kills, recently premiered at the 78th Venice Film Festival. The film is set to hit theaters in the US on October 15. It is a direct sequel to the 2018 Halloween from David Gordon Green & Danny McBride, which itself is a sequel to the original film in the franchise.
Halloween Kills will see Jamie Lee Curtis reprise her role as Laurie Strode, the sole survivor of Michael Myers’ 1978 killing spree, who is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Judy Greer & Andi Matichak will reprise their roles as Laurie’s daughter & granddaughter respectively.
Green’s Halloween strayed from the quiet, autumnal tension of Carpenter’s original into a gruesome, action-packed survivalist film. Early viewings have received mixed responses from critics, however, it is apparent that Kills is not your standard slasher. Whether or not Green’s attempt to elevate the genre with social commentary is successful is yet to be determined.
A sequel, Halloween Kills, is set to stalk into theaters in October 2022. Curtis has suggested that she will finally be done with the franchise after Ends. She did not go into details about that statement but it is likely to conclude Green & McBride’s trilogy. Many may speculate that this could mean that the upcoming film will end with the death of her iconic character, but it’s really too early to tell.
Beginnings
Jamie Lee Curtis began her incredible Hollywood career with John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween. Originally, Carpenter didn’t want to cast Curtis in the role, but his producer & writing partner Debra Hill pushed for Curtis to play Laurie Strode. Hill learned that Curtis was the daughter of Psycho star Janet Leigh, and believed this would give some publicity to the project.
While critics were split upon the film’s release, many praised Curtis’ performance. Years later, many consider Halloween to be one of the most expertly crafted horror films of all time. Its themes, aesthetics, and story structure became a blueprint for the next generation of horror films.
Halloween was an unprecedented box office smash. The film brought in around $70 million against a miniscule budget of $325,000. In addition it spawned a franchise that has collectively grossed over $640 million worldwide and includes novels, comic books, toys, video games, and all sorts of merchandise.
Endings
Curtis has excitedly participated in a number of Halloween sequels. She starred in the direct sequel Halloween II in 1981. Curtis’ voice would make a cameo appearance in Halloween III: Season of the Witch, a film that has gained a considerable cult following despite the absence of series antagonist Michael Myers.
Curtis’ character is revealed to have died in a car accident prior to Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. In Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, a film that dismissed films three through six, Curtis returned as Strode, who faked her death after surviving Myers’ rampage. In H2O’s sequel, Halloween: Resurrection, Strode is finally killed by Myers.
On screen, however, death is never the end. Curtis returned to the franchise in David Gordon Green’s Halloween, a second retcon for the franchise, which wiped out all continuity outside of the 1978 original.
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Will Halloween Ends be that last we see of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode? Will there be even more Halloween movies? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
