'Halloween Kills' bumped a year; 'Candyman' and 'The Forever Purge' delayed again (original) (raw)
Jamie Lee Curtis promises a "prescient and powerful" story.
Published on July 8, 2020 01:45PM EDT
Photo: Ryan Green/Universal Pictures
The Hollywood horror story continues, and the horror genre isn't exempt.
As Halloween director David Gordon Green and John Carpenter jointly announced a yearlong delay in the release of the forthcoming Halloween Kills, the studio behind the sequel, Universal Pictures, announced a number of its other horror-themed titles have also been postponed. That includes Nia DaCosta's Candyman remake and the next Purge movie.
Halloween Kills, the second installment in Green's new Mike Myers trilogy, has been pushed a full calendar year to Oct. 15, 2021. It was meant to open in theaters this year on Oct. 16. So, no Halloween movie during Halloween this year. That also means Halloween Ends, the third chapter, will be bumped from the October 2021 date to Oct. 14, 2022 — a move that takes the place of a date staked out for an untitled Blumhouse Productions project.
Candyman, which stars Watchmen and Aquaman actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, is still set for 2020 and will now move into Halloween Kills' original slot of Oct. 16, 2020. The film was previously set for Sep. 25.
The Forever Purge, directed by Everardo Gout, has also been rescheduled for July 9, 2021 after being taken off its July 10 date a few months ago.
"If we release it in October of this year as planned, we have to face the reality that the film would be consumed in a compromised theatrical experience," Green and Carpenter said in a joint statement about Halloween Kills. "After weighing our options, we have chosen to push the film's theatrical release by one year. On top of a traditional release, Universal has agreed to an IMAX presentation of the film in October 2021. We are sound mixing with one of the greatest design teams that can slash, scream, and creep their way under your skin. We're going to have time to complete the film with the quality that fans deserve. And preparation for Halloween Ends has begun as well."
In response to the news, Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis expressed her disappointment, "mostly because the movie David has created from the characters that John and Debra [Hill] created is a masterpiece." She tweeted, "Prescient and powerful. I promise you it will be worth the wait."
As a consolation prize, Carpenter revealed a new, brief teaser from Halloween Kills. Laurie Strode, played again by Curtis, is seen screaming at police to let the house imprisoning Michael to just burn. Our guess is they don’t.
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