John Carpenter Hated the ‘Halloween’ Michael Myers Sibling Storyline

The director of one of the most iconic horror franchises has revealed that he hated the sibling storyline for “Halloween” antagonist Michael Myers.

It is a fiercely debated topic among fans of the horror series as to whether the reveal in “Halloween II” that Myers is the brother of heroine Laurie Strode–played, of course, by franchise lead Jamie Lee Curtis–ruins the mystique of Myers. Many would argue that the character was much more intimidating when his killings were just random and not family orientated. However, it seems that director John Carpenter added scenes into the original because of NBC.

NBC bought the rights for “Halloween” and asked Carpenter to add more on to the original for a TV movie. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Carpenter said, “NBC purchased the rights to show ‘Halloween’ on network television. But our movie was too short for them. So we needed to add some time. I think we had to add, what was it, eight minutes or something like that, I don’t remember. And there was nothing to add. The first movie was just what I wanted to make.” He added, “So I came up with this brother thing. It was awful, just awful. But, I did it.”

It was during the filming of these additional scenes that “Halloween II” was also in production. One of the scenes added was the examination of Myers’ escaped cell at the mental institution, in which the word “sister” was carved into the cell door. It was then revealed late in “Halloween II” that Strode was indeed the long lost brother of Myers.

Carpenter and co-writer Debra Hill did not want to continue the Myers/Strode narrative in the sequel, so much so that Carpenter didn’t direct it and got Rick Rosenthal to direct instead. But the original film was a financial success and thus the studio forced their hand for the narrative to continue. While Carpenter and Hill co-wrote the film, they refused to have any more to do with it.

As a result, the sibling arc became the main story point of the sequels. Myers’s rampages were less a string of random killings and more about him wanting to kill his entire bloodline. Of course, now the whole sibling arc has been seemingly erased, as last year’s reboot ignored the events of the sequels and only took things from the first film. This means that “Halloween” sequels are no longer part of the ongoing canon.

There are plans for two more films coming in October of 2020 and 2021, titled “Halloween Kills” and “Halloween Ends” respectively. Carpenter is set to serve as a producer and composer on both movies.