It is not yet clear how new Halloween trilogy finally bringing Laurie Strode’s battle with Michael Myers to an end. Director David Gordon Green’s Halloween proved to be a surprise hit with critics upon its 2018 release, proving that director John Carpenter’s classic franchise could be successfully revived.
Halloween 2018 opted to retcon every Halloween sequel after the original 1978 movie, jettisoning the cult of Thorn, the revelation that Laurie was secretly Michael’s sister, and all manner of extraneous supernatural lore. While this decision resulted in Halloween 2018 being a stripped-back, irably simple thrill ride, the choice did not benefit 2021’s much-delayed sequel Halloween Kills. That nostalgia-filled outing relied on viewers caring about the return of Tommy Doyle and other franchise fan favorites, but these cameos that lost a lot of their potential impact due to Halloween 2018 already retconning their original roles.
Now, Halloween Ends uses the franchise’s most divisive twist or not, this Laurie vs Michael grudge match seems like an impossible problem for the filmmakers.
How Halloween Ends Can Keep Fans Happy
There is one potential ending for Halloween Ends that can stay true to the tone of Carpenter’s original movie while still not feeling too hopelessly grim and dark. Michael needs to die, but so does Laurie. Without her death, the dark, merciless atmosphere of the new Halloween trilogy would be wasted, and Karen’s death in the second movie will seem all the more pointless. However, if Laurie finally, definitively kills Michael and dies in the process, this will complete her character arc, prove that Michael could only be taken down by the original Final Girl, and leave Allyson alive to carry on her legacy. While still an unavoidably sad ending, this would at least explain why Halloween Kills killed off Karen, Laurie’s daughter, a choice that would otherwise seem pointlessly mean-spirited if the other two generations of Strode women made it out alive.
Whether Halloween Ends will opt to take this approach remains to be seen. Jamie Lee Curtis is the biggest star in the series and the closest connection that Gordon Green’s new trilogy has to the original Carpenter movie, meaning Halloween Ends must center her performance. However, the actor is also overdue a dignified death from a franchise that has already killed her off three times. Only time will tell if Halloween Ends can give Laurie the death she deserves, effectively ending the new Halloween trilogy in the process.
