After nearly 40 years, legendary director John Carpenter will return to help unleash his original horror icon Michael Myers back upon the silver screen.
Horror film production company Blumhouse is teaming up with Miramax films and Halloween franchise producer Malek Akkad for the project.
Carpenter is officially set as the film’s executive producer and creative consultant. According to the announcement, there is also a small chance that he will return as composer.
“Halloween needs to return to its traditions,” Carpenter said in a statement. “I feel like the movies have gotten away from that… Michael is not just a human being; he’s a force of nature, like the wind. That’s what makes him so scary.”
Blumhouse founder Jordan Blum said the film would be produced on a modest budget, in line with the original’s mere $300,000 cost.
“Halloween is one of those milestone films that inspired everyone at our company to get into the world of scary movies,” Blum said, “and we are so excited that Miramax brought us together. We cannot wait to find and collaborate with the right filmmaker to give Halloween fans the movie they deserve.”
The film is currently in pre-production, with cast and crew announcements forthcoming. “At heart it’s just a good, scary story, and that’s why it works. 38 years later, I’m going to help to try to make the tenth sequel the scariest of them all,” said Carpenter.
The horror icon released his second album of original pieces just this past April. Check out our interview with Carpenter about his work as a composer, including a tidbit about the original inspiration of the iconic Halloween theme.