The Halloween franchise has never been particularly good at sticking to one timeline. Michael Myers has been killed, resurrected, ignored, rebooted, and given several different backstories across nearly five decades.
While this back and forth has often frustrated fans, it could actually give Miramax's planned Halloween TV series an opportunity that the movies never had.
The series was announced in 2023, with then Head of Worldwide Television at Miramax Marc Helwig later describing it as “a creative reset completely and going back to the original film.”
He also said John Carpenter's original Halloween (1978) would be its “foundation,” rather than continuing any of David Gordon Green's recent movies.
There have no significant updates since, though, and Scream Horror Mag has previously reported that the project could be in doubt, adding that Miramax may have shifted its attention toward a new movie instead.
But if the TV series does survive, it doesn't necessarily need to choose one of the franchise's established continuities.
Related: Michael Myers' Motives in the ‘Halloween' Movies Explained
Instead, imagine an anthology in which every episode explores a different abandoned branch of Halloween history. One story could pick up after Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), ignoring Halloween: Resurrection (2002) and exploring what happened after Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) finally appeared to defeat Michael.
Another could return to Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), continuing Jamie Lloyd's (Danielle Harris) disturbing cliffhanger rather than following the events of Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989).
Even Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009) could receive a standalone continuation. The idea would also fit Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), which was originally intended to launch an anthology approach before Michael Myers returned.
None of this has been announced by Miramax, but with the franchise already full of alternate timelines, perhaps the best way to reset Halloween would be to stop pretending there's only one history to choose from.
Would you like to see the Halloween TV series explore the franchise's abandoned timelines? Let us know in the comments below!
