An early draft for Halloween 2018 opened with Michael Myers killing Dr. Loomis in the opening scene. Dr. Loomis is an iconic character within the Halloween franchise, with Donald Pleasence embodying the role across five movies; Malcolm McDowell later took on the part for Rob Zombie's Halloween movies. The production originally approached Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing for the role, but both turned it down; Lee later lamented the decision, calling it the biggest mistake of his career.

Pleasence took on the character, who spent 15 years trying to keep Michael Myers locked away in an asylum once he realized he was evil incarnate. Michael escapes and goes on a rampage in Haddonfield, with the original movie ending with Loomis shooting him six times after he attempts to murder Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). The final shot of Halloween reveals Michael’s body has disappeared, and it was the actor’s choice to play the scene with Loomis not being shocked.

Related: Halloween 2018 Features A Dr. Loomis Vocal Cameo

Halloween 2018 features a brief vocal appearance from the good doctor, but an early draft of the script opened on the final scene of the original film. Executive producer John Carpenter recently spoke of this scripted sequence and how it involved the death of Loomis, and he recommended the filmmakers remove it since it could be upsetting to fans. Now Bloody Disgusting have revealed the details of this omitted opening, which featured Loomis shooting Michael once, only for The Shape to recover and grab Loomis.

He pins him against the wall, and after a brief struggle breaks his neck. Laurie picks up Loomis’ revolver and shoots Michael multiple times, sending him over the balcony. She points the gun at his motionless body and keeps pulling the trigger – despite the gun being empty – as police arrive on the scene.

Halloween 2018 ignores all previous entries, and this removed opening lines up with a quote co-writer Danny McBride gave about the project in 2017, where he said the movie imagines the original ended in a different way. This scene would have been a fairly shocking way to open, but as Carpenter said, it likely would have upset fans and felt somewhat disrespectful to the character. It also would be difficult to pull off convincingly, requiring extensive use of body doubles and CGI.

Halloween 2018 ultimately dropped any kind of flashback sequence, with a documentary team explaining how events played out following the end of the 1978 film. Laurie Strode takes on the Loomis role within the new film, trying in vain to warn people of the danger still posed by Michael, and then trying to stop his new massacre when he inevitably breaks out again.

More: Jamie Lee Curtis Thinks Original Halloween Continuity Didn’t Make Sense

Source: Bloody Disgusting

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