Casting A Fresh Halloween Franchise Reboot

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While Halloween is one of the most iconic slasher movies ever made, that does not mean the legendary horror cannot have another reboot, but casting a new generation poses a trickier issue. For every successful reimagining of a horror genre classic, like director John Carpenter’s 1982 sci-fi horror classic The Thing, there are plenty of misfires, such as 2010's Nightmare On Elm Street. Furthermore, while some remakes, such as Gus Van Sant’s take on Psycho, are so similar to the original movie that they are almost entirely redundant, the likes of 2019’s Black Christmas are so different that they might have fared better with an original, unrelated title.

Between the two extremes of beloved and derided horror remakes is 2007’s Halloween remake by director Rob Zombie, which took an undeniably original approach when remaking John Carpenter’s sparse suspense classic. Carpenter’s brief 6-minute prologue was replaced with almost an hour of screen time devoted to the childhood of Michael Myers, as the 2007 remake was more interested in the villain’s troubled upbringing than the idea of innate evil. This reboot did steer clear of directly copying the original Halloween, but arguably steered too far from its source material. As such, and after the success of the 2018 sequel trilogy, there is no better time for a fresh Halloween reboot.

Annarah Cymone As Halloween 2023’s Laurie Strode

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It is tough for anyone to take on the role of Laurie Strode after Jamie Lee Curtis made the part iconic and revisited it as recently as 2022’s twisty ending chapter Halloween Ends. However, it is worth remembering that Curtis was relatively unknown circa 1978, and while her performance is now the stuff of horror cinema legend, her star power was not relied upon to sell the original Halloween. As such, the actor who replaces her in the role should not necessarily be an A-list name. Instead, the role should go to a rising star with a solid horror track record. Frequent Mike Flanagan collaborator Annarah Cymone fits this bill perfectly.

In both Midnight Mass and The Midnight Club, Cymone played variations on the "final girl" archetype - characters who seemed without fault but hid secret depths under their cheerful veneers. While Scream 6 star Jenna Ortega would be an obvious choice as the tough, resourceful Laurie Strode in a Halloween reboot, Cymone is less well-known and more accustomed to playing unassuming, unlikely heroines. As such, she would be the perfect contemporary match for Jamie Lee Curtis, and the actor’s appearances in Flanagan’s shows would allow a Halloween reboot in 2023 to cement her status as a modern scream queen.

Sadie Sink As Halloween 2023’s Annie Brackett

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Ever since the legendary director Wes Craven left audiences stunned by killing off Drew Barrymore in the opening scenes of Scream, it has been a genre tradition for slasher movies to cast major stars, only to then swiftly kill them off. This horror twist still wrong-foots audiences to this day, which is why rising star Sadie Sink would be ideal for the role of Annie Brackett in a 2023 Halloween reboot movie. Thanks to both Fear Street and Stranger Things, Sink has made a name for herself as a horror heroine already. As such, she would be perfect casting for a character who dies surprisingly early, leaving viewers unsure who is safe.

Even in an ill-fated cameo role, Sadie Sink could make a huge impact in any hypothetical 2023 Halloween reboot. Sink's performances in Stranger Things and The Whale have earned the young actress much acclaim, meaning she possesses the rare ability to sway the audience onto her side within a single scene. This would be crucial for the role of Halloween's Annie Brackett, since it would give the character's demise maximum impact, despite coming so abruptly, while also establishing Sink as a breakout horror star.

Kevin Bacon As Halloween 2023’s Dr. Sam Loomis

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While it can be easy to forget between re-watches, Dr. Loomis is a major character in the original Halloween movie. Since Michael is kept off-screen for most of the first two acts of the movie and Laurie’s pre-babysitting antics are fairly uneventful, it is mostly the good doctor’s fruitless search for his missing patient that comprises Halloween’s second act. Thus, the role calls for an actor famous for hammy villain roles to play against type as Halloween's troubled, reluctant hero. Like Donald Pleasance and Malcolm McDowell before him, Kevin Bacon would be ideal for this role, balancing gravitas with just enough wild-eyed mania.

Appearing in Friday the 13th is enough to cement Kevin Bacon as a horror legend, but the actor has repeatedly shown a preference to not take himself too seriously. A turn in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special proves as much. Watching Kevin Bacon return to Hollywood horror movies and tackle Dr. Loomis in a Halloween reboot would be fascinatingly unpredictable, and could afford the film a self-awareness that many horror reboots arguably lack.

Emma Myers As Halloween 2023’s Lynda Van Der Klok

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Young actor Emma Myers was a revelation as the sweet Enid in Wednesday, and the supporting star could imbue Laurie’s doomed friend Lynda van der Klok with more likability than the original iteration. While Lynda had a memorably funny role in the original Halloween, she was mostly a thinly-sketched "valley girl" stereotype with little characterization, and the fact that her actor, PJ Soles, was most famous for playing a much meaner variation on the same part in Carrie did not help. Myers turning Lynda into a sweeter type of Valley Girl could make her inevitable demise more devastating, which would be important since viewers already know the moment is coming.

Matthew Modine As Halloween 2023’s Sheriff Leigh Brackett

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Between his Stranger Things villain Dr. Brenner and a supporting role in 2021’s Wrong Turn, Full Metal Jacket star Matthew Modine is fast becoming a late-career horror staple. The screen veteran’s deadpan charisma would be a good match for Bacon’s over-acting, allowing the latter to play up Loomis’ unhinged fear-mongering, while Brackett remains uncertain about the supposed boogeyman haunting Haddonfield. Furthermore, Modine played the role of a vengeful father who was driven to the brink of madness by almost losing his daughter in Wrong Turn, so viewers already know that the actor’s brooding edge would make his reaction to Annie’s death a guaranteed tearjerker.

Why Halloween’s Reboot Needs An Unknown Michael Myers Actor

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While Halloween’s 2023 reboot could, and should, change many details about the original movie, there are some things that every entry in the series needs to succeed. Just like a slasher movie without any kills would never work, a version of Michael played by a famous actor would flop too. Michael almost spoke in Halloween 2007, but even Rob Zombie ended up deciding against this change. The director was aware that some elements of the original were considered sacrosanct, and this has not changed. Since Michael Myers has always been a pointedly faceless villain, casting someone famous to play the role in Halloween’s 2023 reboot would be a subversion too far.