'Halloween Kills' Image: Michael Myers Is Back In A Sequel About "Paranoia, Misinformation And Crowd Panic"

Michael Myers is stepping out in the latest Halloween Kills image. The iconic, immortal slasher, known to his friends and family as The Shape, returns in the upcoming sequel to 2018's Halloween. Jamie Lee Curtis is back again as Laurie Strode, and the sequel will be picking up immediately after the previous film's conclusion. This image underlines that, showing Michael emerging from the burning house Laurie and her daughter and granddaughter left him in right before the end credits rolled.

The image above comes from Empire, which also comes with a quote from director David Gordon Green: "This film is about community fear, paranoia, misinformation and crowd panic. This movie is a great popcorn genre movie and not really any kind of statement, but it's strange how things line up. It couldn't be a more interesting time to release a movie like this."

I'm guessing that means the plot is going to deal with the folks of Haddonfield forming some sort of mob in the wake of the return of Michael Myers. That's not exactly new ground for the franchise – Halloween 4 has a similar plotline, with rowdy Haddonfielders piling into their pick-up trucks to go hunt down the masked killer.

Halloween Kills is the first of two sequels to 2018's Halloween. The film after this is Halloween Ends, and it will – presumably, based on that title – bring everything to a close. David Gordon Green is directing both, and Jamie Lee Curtis is appearing in both as well. Judy Greer and Andi Matichak are also returning, playing Curtis' daughter and granddaughter, respectively.

I was a big fan of the 2018 Halloween. I know some fans of the franchise had a problem with the way the flick retconned the mythology and ignored every other sequel. And I also saw some people complain that the film had one too many jokes. But overall, it worked for me (save for a ridiculous subplot involving Michael's new doctor that should've been cut entirely). I also liked how that film brought closure to Laurie Strode as a character, allowing her to take back her own narrative. With that in mind, I was wary of a sequel and kind of wanted the franchise to stop there.

But Halloween was a big hit, so a sequel was inevitable. And I'm such a sucker for this franchise that pretty much all my apprehension has faded away at this point. Bring on those sequels, damn it!

Halloween Kills opens October 15, 2021.