‘Halloween Returns’ Director Explains the Title’s Meaning, Eyes Gillian Jacobs for Leading Role

A few months ago we learned that director Marcus Dunstan and his longtime collaborator Patrick Melton are working on a new installment in the long-running Halloween franchise. The duo, who also worked on several films in the Saw franchise, are approaching things a little differently — it’s not a reboot, but instead will be a direct sequel to 1981's Halloween II, and if you’re a little confused about the title, Dunstan can clear that up for you.

Halloween Daily News has some insight from Dunstan, who made his feature debut with Melton on Feast (the result of a Project Greenlight competition) before the pair went on to make the final four Saw films. Dunstan and Melton are now preparing to film Halloween Returns, the first new Halloween movie since Rob Zombie’s Halloween II hit theaters in 2009.

But rather than reboot the franchise yet again, Dunstan and Melton are bringing things back to John Carpenter’s original, with Halloween Returns serving as a sequel to Carpenter’s Halloween II. Dunstan explains the meaning of the title:

It does function as what it means to say: If you commit a violent act, sometimes you get returns. What are the repercussions of being a violent entity? In that case, ‘Halloween Returns’ could mean a number of things.

The karma-esque angle is certainly interesting, and not something that’s often explored in horror franchises — what happens to Michael Myers as a result of his heinous acts? Dunstan went on to explain that they’ve already done some motion tests for potential versions of the iconic killer, and says they’re shooting on film. As for who might star in the new sequel? Dunstan has a hint:

I really like this actress Gillian Jacobs. She’s known for all this comedy on ‘Community,’ and yet I didn’t know her from ‘Community’ first, I knew her from a movie called ‘Gardens of the Night,’ which is one of the most wrenching dramas, and she’s excellent. I thought, ‘I wonder if this great performer would do that again, would like to go there,’ and I think so.

That’s far from official confirmation of Jacobs’ casting, but the “I think so” part of his statement seems to indicate that there have been some talks at the very least.

We don’t know too much about Halloween Returns, which also doesn’t have a formal release date, but it will center on Deputy Gary Hunt, who teamed up with Dr. Loomis in Halloween II during the climactic sequence at the school. Now a sheriff, Hunt is dealing with his own horrors in the city of Haddonfield.

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