This article contains MASSIVE SPOILERS for Halloween Kills, so proceed with caution!
Halloween Kills is finally here, and while the reception from critics and fans alike has been mixed (to say the least), it seems director David Gordon Green and the team behind the film were always somewhat aware that the ending could be divisive. While there aren't any plans to retcon what happened, they will be adding an epilogue of sorts in the not-so-distant future.
In a recent interview with Collider, Green confirmed that the upcoming home video release of the film will include an extended cut with a new ending that will append the current finale. He explains,
"There's actually, we're going to do a...This is the director's cut through and through, but there's an additional scene that we filmed that was scripted. And actually I think is a pretty brilliant scene. So we're going to do an extended version on the DVD, just so people can see an extended ending that's different and cool. We ended up lifting it when I became more confident of where we're going to pick up in the next movie, it felt it didn't feel authentic to where we're going to go. So we lifted it. So we just said, we're kind of coming up with, okay, then if we lift that, where do we end? And it was actually Couper Samuelson at Blumhouse, he was just, let's just end when it's over. Lights out. He mentioned it, he was like remember in Rogue One, when you wanted the movie to end? When it was a Darth Vader going ballistic at the door."
While the film's current ending, which sees Michael Myers survive yet again before going home to deliver a fatal blow to Karen (Judy Greer) and setting the stage for an epic showdown with longtime nemesis Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), won't be changed, it looks like the new scene will provide some added context for what's to come next year.
"It's part of the movie. It's just not part of the appropriate momentum of... I think it was cool in its own right as watching a one-off movie, but knowing where we're going to exactly where we're going to pick up which, you'll know in a year, it wasn't the right look in the eye that we needed to give the audience."
Speaking of Judy Greer, The Hollywood Reporter was recently able to catch up with the fan-favorite Archer and Arrested Development actress to get her initial reaction to learning her character's tragic fate.
"Well, I was bummed to see the ending. I thought it was a good idea, though. I thought it was really beautifully written, and it felt like a dance, like an opera, kind of. But it was also a little bit of a bummer, mostly because I like to play with my friends. I learned a lot about the way that they shot that final fight scene with Michael Myers and the townspeople. Listening to David talk about it was really interesting, and it was cool to watch it knowing technically how they did it and how they made it look so special. So I watch it now and I’m in awe of our crew."
Co-star Andi Matichak, who plays Greer's on-screen daughter Allyson, expressed a similar sentiment, also understanding the creative decision, but being just as bummed about not getting to work with Judy on the next one.
"I was gutted in a lot of ways. (Laughs.) Especially because you almost have three finales back to back to back. You feel like you get out unscathed, you feel like you get out triumphant, and then you get crushed in a lot of regards. It’s a really beautiful ending in a lot of ways, and I agree with Judy. It’s, unfortunately, the right move, which sucks, but they really made it pretty poetic and pretty powerful."
Minutes after Laurie Strode (Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked monster Michael Myers caged and burning in Laurie’s basement, Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor.
But when Michael manages to free himself from Laurie’s trap, his ritual bloodbath resumes. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against their unstoppable monster.
The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael’s first rampage who decide to take matters into their own hands, forming a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all.
Evil dies tonight.