Nearly 50 Years Later, John Carpenter Still Says ‘Halloween’ Never Needed a Sequel

Nearly five decades after Halloween changed horror forever, John Carpenter still doesn’t believe the film needed a sequel.

Speaking with The Guardian in a new career-spanning interview, the legendary filmmaker once again reflected on why he walked away after the 1978 classic, explaining that, in his mind, Michael Myers’ story had already been told.

“I didn’t think there was any story left, but they were going to do it whether I wanted to or not. So what are you going to do?”

It’s hardly the first time Carpenter has shared that opinion.

Back in 2014, he expanded on the decision, revealing to Deadline that all of his creative ideas had gone into the original film and that he never intended to continue the story.

“I didn’t think there was any more story, and I didn’t want to do it again. All of my ideas were for the first Halloween—there shouldn’t have been any more!… However, I couldn’t stop them from making sequels. So my agents said, ‘Why don’t you become an executive producer and you can share the revenue?’ But I had to write the second movie, and every night I sat there and wrote with a six pack of beer trying to get through this thing.”

Even while promoting Halloween II in 1981, Carpenter admitted:

“I had made that film once and I really didn’t want to do it again.”

And decades later, he was still making the same point with a laugh.