The filming of the new Halloween film has taken another big step in production, with the surprise news of casting for another important character. David Gordon Green’s reboot of the horror franchise already has Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as the quintessential ‘final girl’ Laurie Strode, with her daughter along for the ride. But this latest announcement reveals that a rising actress has scored a part as a new generation of Strode women for Michael Myers to tangle with.

The Blumhouse production of Halloween is still on track to be released in October 2018, with producer Jason Blum threatening to do some serious damage to himself if it doesn’t finish filming on time. Genre fans are stoked by the return of Curtis, and the new addition of Laurie’s daughter (said to be named Karen) who will be played by Judy Greer. Co-writer Danny McBride has confirmed that the film will be a straight sequel to the original 1978 film, which will ignore the timelines and situation set up by the previous sequels and Rob Zombie’s reboot. He has also stated that the tone of the film will be very much a return to the tension and dread from that movie, rather than splashing on gore and violence for simple shock value. Original director John Carpenter is involved and major decisions are reportedly still being run past him.

Although the start of filming was reportedly pushed back to January, another major piece of casting has just been announced which seems to add another layer to the plot, and to the number of potential victims which the white-masked psychopath will be targeting. The Tracking Board reports that up-and-coming actress Andi Matichak has seen off some stiff competition and is said to have been given the role of Karen’s daughter, which of course makes her Laurie Strode’s granddaughter. Matichak has previously appeared in plenty of well-regarded TV shows such as Orange is the New Black, Underground, and Blue Bloods.

If this is true, it will mark the first time in the franchise that more than two generations of the Strode family will be simultaneously menaced by Myers. The 1998 reboot Halloween H20: 20 Years Later did have Laurie’s son – played by Josh Hartnett – stalked by him. Halloween 4 and 5 did have Laurie’s daughter Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) chased by him, along with her baby in part 6. But with all these alternative timelines, this could be the first time three generations of Strode women will have to contend with the iconic villain in one story.

It’s an interesting development that will up the stakes in the rebooted story if all rumors turn out to be true. No doubt Laurie’s survival and maternal instincts will be taken to the max, and give plenty of material for Curtis to get her teeth into. With Carpenter still heavily involved in the production, and McBride and Green promising good things, we look forward to seeing what scares are in store for us next October