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Credit: Universal StudiosThis October will see Halloween Ends (2022), the final chapter in David Gordon Green’s Halloween Trilogy, released in theaters. Following Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills (2021), the sequel will conclude a battle that started 44 years ago with Halloween (1978).
In the John Carpenter classic, Jamie Lee Curtis plays babysitter Laurie Strode, who ends up in the path of escaped murderer Michael Myers (Nick Castle) on Halloween. While there have been many sequels in which Curtis reprises her role, David Gordon Green’s trilogy ignores them all.
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Nevertheless, Curtis returned for Halloween II (1981), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), and Halloween: Resurrection (2002). However, her character — who is not seemingly immortal like Michael Myers — was killed off in the latter, making it impossible for Curtis to return in a future film.
In 2007, director Rob Zombie rebooted the original film, which was followed by its own sequel in 2009. In those films, Laurie Strode is played by Scout Taylor-Compton. So with the series officially rebooted, Jamie Lee Curtis’ tenure was well and truly over. Or so it seemed.
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In 2018, David Gordon Green “de-booted” the Halloween series and chose to ignore everything but the original 1978 film. As such, this allowed him to bring Curtis back into the fold as a “new” Laurie, one who isn’t related to Michael Myers as is the case in 1981’s Halloween II and every film thereafter.
In the new films, it’s actually Laurie who’s obsessed with Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney), having been left traumatized and unable to move forward in life as a result of that fateful night. The 2018 film explores these themes, while Halloween Kills focuses on community trauma.
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Now, in an interview with Salon, the 63-year-old actress talked about what it was like filming the last sequel in the new trilogy of films, Halloween Ends:
“I’ve just finished it [Halloween Ends], you know? I just three weeks ago finished shooting the last shot of Laurie Strode. It was deeply emotional and cathartic,” Curtis said. “Everything you just said is what happens. I mean, when you call her a ‘final girl’ — I never really understood how important that name was until I made this last movie. And now I really understand it. And I think you’ll be very happy.”
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“Final girl” is a term often used for the slasher genre, referring of course to the main character who has survived up until the third act and must therefore face off against the main antagonist, whether it’s Freddy Krueger, Chucky the killer doll, Ghostface, or in this case, Michael Myers.
Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode is generally considered to be the definitive final girl (or “Scream Queen”) by horror fans, although many will agree that it’s a tough call between Laurie Strode and Sidney Prescott from the Scream movies, who is played by Neve Campbell (although Campbell won’t be returning for next year’s Scream 6).
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It’s hard to believe that Halloween Ends will be Jamie Lee Curtis’ final outing as Laurie Strode, especially as she has returned to the series a number of times. Not only that, but as the series is continually rebooted (there are actually six timelines, or seven if you include 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch), this makes it all the more possible for her to make a comeback.
But with that said, given the actress’ recent interview, this time it would seem that Laurie Strode’s journey really will come to an end in Halloween Ends – at least her version of the character (or should we say second version).
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Last week, Jamie Lee Curtis also announced when the trailer for Halloween Ends will be released. On her official Twitter account, she shared the following date next to a pumpkin emoji:
🎃7/20
— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) July 13, 2022
Related: How Will ‘Halloween Ends’ Actually End?
However, while Halloween Ends is indeed the final film in David Gordon Green’s “de-boot” trilogy, that doesn’t mean the end for the Halloween franchise altogether. Recently, producer Jason Blum confirmed that there will be more Halloween movies in the future.
“I didn’t say it’s [Halloween Ends] gonna be the last Halloween movie,” he said in an interview with ScreenRant. “It’s our last Halloween movie. We have no more rights to make any more Halloween, so it goes back to Malek [Akkad]. And what he does, only he knows, but we are done. And this is our last one and I think people will be very happy.”
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So, to no surprise whatsoever, it looks like there will be more Halloween movies in the future. But the question is, how will Halloween Ends actually end? Well, we know one thing — Laurie Strode, it would seem, will be the final girl once again. And even if she is killed off (again), in many ways, Laurie is just as immortal as Michael Myers.
Halloween Ends releases on October 14, but you can get a sneak peek of the film on July 20. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode), Andi Matichak (Allyson Nelson), Will Patton (Officer Frank Hawkins), Kyle Richards (Lindsey Wallace), and James Jude Courtney (Michael Myers).
Do you think Laurie Strode will die in Halloween Ends? Let us know in the comments down below!