John Carpenter Nixed An Early Idea For The New ‘Halloween’ To Alter The Original Film’s Ending & Kill Dr. Loomis

In the early stages of development on the new “Halloween” film, there was an idea to not only ignore the 9 other sequels, but to also drastically alter the ending of the original “Halloween,” creating a sort of alternate timeline for this new film to pick up from. And according to a new report from Bloody Disgusting, it all came down to the fate of Dr. Loomis.

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In the original film, Dr. Loomis enters the home at the end of the film to save Laurie Strode. He arrives just in time to shoot Michael Myers as he is attacking the young girl. He continues to shoot the killer until Michael falls off the balcony down to his apparent death. Of course, when Loomis walks to the edge and looks down, Michael is gone. Thus, nine more sequels.

However, in the early stages of the new reboot/sequel, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green, and Jeff Fradley (the credited writers on the new film) had a very different, probably controversial idea in mind.

According to the report, the 2018 “Halloween” would open back in 1978, with Dr. Loomis entering the house to save Laurie Strode. Everything is the same until after Loomis shoots Michael Myers the first time. He enters the room, and instead of emptying his gun shooting Myers off the balcony, the killer changes things forever.

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The passage from the early script reads:

“The Shape GRABS LOOMIS’ THROAT and throws him to the wall. Loomis drops the gun on the floor wheezing for breath. The Shape CHOKES Loomis, who struggles against the wall. 2. The Shape’s thumbs crush Loomis’ THROAT. He drops to the ground, DEAD. The Shape looks down at Loomis’ lifeless body.”

From there, a gunshot rings out and narrowly misses Michael Myers. It’s Laurie, who grabbed Loomis’ gun and is attempting to kill the murderer. From there, she shoots again and does actually hit Myers, sending him over the edge and on the ground, as in the original:

“Laurie shivers, holding the gun in the shadows. She moves to the edge of the balcony and aims the gun at The Shape’s body. She pulls the trigger but the gun is empty. She keeps pulling the trigger…”

Then the cops arrive, and apprehend Michael Myers, but Laurie is still distraught:

“Laurie sobs, shivering against the wall, still holding the gun, still pulling the trigger over and over again in the dark…”

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Needless to say, if the writers kept this in the finished script, you would be looking at a very different “Halloween” franchise, as Loomis’ death at the hands of Michael Myers in the first film would have forever changed how people watched John Carpenter’s classic.

And it appears that Carpenter was the man to nix the idea, saying to the new writers (via Collider), “That’s a mistake. The audience won’t like that. That’s a revision I don’t think we should do.”

Judging by reviews, it seems as if the director was right on the money and McBride and Company were able to not alter the original, while also telling a completely new tale.

“Halloween” hits theaters October 19.