It looks like Michael Myers is headed back to stalking victims across Haddonfield in a new Halloween film, as two of the writers of the Saw series are revitalizing the famed horror icon once more. Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, best known for writing the last four films in the Saw franchise, have been tapped by Dimension Films to pen a new film in the series according to THR. While nothing is really known about the film, it’s being termed as a “recalibration” for the series, that could mean just about anything. It really sounds more like Dimension isn’t exactly sure with how to handle the series, and they’re hoping fresh blood will be able to right the series’ course.
The last film in the coveted horror franchise, Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, is turning six years old this year, and has seemingly left the series in a rut. It was met with critical and fan derision, and Zombie seemed to leave his rebooted take on the character in a hard place to continue from. . John Carpenter’s 1978 original is still considered one of the best horror films of all time, so it’s not surprising that Dimension is bent on bringing the series back though. Michael Myers is a coveted horror icon who has been the face of the series for nine out of the ten films in the series, and the studio knows he has a fan base.
While we don’t know exactly what this will mean for the series, it’s good to see that Dimension is trying to take another crack at the character. It would honestly be better to ignore what Zombie did and start new, or even crazier, ignoring Halloween: Resurrection and getting Jamie Lee Curtis and Josh Hartnett to return for Halloween: 40 Years Later. It’s honestly hard to see exactly where the series can go at this point, but I’ll certainly be keeping my eye on developments on this one moving forward. Here’s hoping that Melton and Dunstan find a way to bring The Shape back in a big way, making something more akin to what Carpenter achieved in the original. This is coveted franchise, and it would be great to see Myers back on the big screen one again.