John Carpenter Wants to Return to ‘Halloween’: “I’d Love to Contribute”

John Carpenter never expected Halloween to become a franchise. Nearly 50 years later, however, Michael Myers is still stalking Haddonfield, and Carpenter says he’d be happy to remain involved with whatever comes next.

The legendary filmmaker appeared on a new episode of the Tape Delay podcast with host Austin Boyd, where the two discussed Carpenter’s new graphic novel Cathedral and its companion album, among several other topics. Naturally, the conversation eventually turned to the future of Halloween.

Boyd asked Carpenter whether he expects to have any involvement with the franchise going forward.

“They haven’t asked me yet, but I sure would,” Carpenter said. “And, you know, I stuck with that franchise over the years. It’s important to me, and I’d love to contribute.”

Carpenter doesn’t specify what that contribution might look like, but he was involved with all three films in David Gordon Green’s recent Halloween trilogy. Carpenter served as an executive producer on Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends, while composing all three scores alongside Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies.

It’s interesting considering Carpenter never intended for Michael Myers to become the centerpiece of a decades-spanning franchise in the first place. As we’ve previously reported here at Dread Central, Carpenter has said that the ending of his original 1978 Halloween, with Michael disappearing after being shot by Dr. Loomis, was meant to leave audiences hanging.

“Michael’s disappearance at the end of the first film makes you gasp,” Carpenter previously explained. “And I wanted to leave the audience that way. I didn’t want any sequels. Boy, was I wrong, huh?”