Warning: Spoilers for Halloween (2018) below

Halloween (2018) director David Gordon Green has explained why Michael chose not to kill a potential victim. The latest Halloween took the somewhat brave step to drop decades worth of mythology built up over various sequels and instead chose to focus on what happened to original final girl Laurie Strode 40 years later. Judging by the amount of positive critical and fan feedback this was the fresh start the series needed, and the movie recently scored the second highest October opening weekend ever.

The new Halloween also presents the scariest version of Michael Myers seen in a long time. The movie does away with the sibling twist that was first revealed in 1981’s Halloween II, with this version of Michael having no particular objective than chaos and murder. The film ends an inevitable – and immensely satisfying – showdown between Michael and Laurie, and the success of the movie practically guarantees a sequel will happen.

Related: Original Halloween 2018 Script Opened With Dr. Loomis’ Death

Michael racks up quite a body count in Halloween, but he noticeably spares the life of one potential victim midway through the film. During Michael's return to Haddonfield, he immediately starts slaughtering random victims in the neighborhood, one of whom has a baby. Michael briefly pauses by the baby's crib, only to quickly move. During a new interview with Collider, David Gordon Green first jokes that Michael doesn’t kill the infant ‘Because that would be so rude,’ before stating ‘I think it was a consideration,’ when Michael pauses.

The filmmaker also discussed the origin of this moment, which was a last-minute scramble when an actor didn’t turn up.

Yes, it’s terrifying in its own right. And it was a last-minute idea — I mean, why is there a baby crib in the living room? It was gonna be her husband sleeping on the couch, but then he didn’t show up and we scrambled and put a baby crib in there. And then, yeah, I thought it was interesting to see one ethical choice that he made in the movie. So that’s the one ethical choice he makes.

Michael pausing by the crib makes for one of the most chilling moments in Halloween 2018 precisely because of what could happen, but while Michael Myers might be a monster, it would have been grim to depict him as a baby killer too. Part of the appeal of The Shape as a character is that his motives are entirely unknown, and while Green admits Michael likely considered the option, the fact he made the 'ethical' choice adds another layer of mystery to his actions.

That said, Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers featured him chasing after his infant nephew, so it’s best not to psychoanalyze him too much. While a sequel to Halloween is all but inevitable, those who’ve seen the movie will be wondering how another movie will build on the very satisfying ending, and which of the surviving characters will be involved.

More: Ranking Every Halloween Movies, From 1978 To 2018

Source: Collider