Warning: Major Spoilers For Halloween Ends Below!Had Halloween Ends kept its original plan with Corey Cunningham, it would have set up the franchise's most intriguing spin-off. Halloween 2018 sold itself from the beginning as a film that would right the ship for the saga and based on its reviews and box office, it did just that. The final two outings in Blumhouse's Halloween trilogy met with bad reviews, with Halloween Ends being especially divisive. This was due to focus shifting away from Michael Myers and Laurie Strode to new character Corey Cunningham. After becoming a town pariah due to a tragic accident, Corey transforms into a Michael copycat.
Myers himself acts as a mentor to Corey, but the latter eventually goes on a killing spree posing as The Shape. In the finale, Michael returns to retrieve his mask, and viciously kills Corey for his betrayal. In speaking with The Wrap, director David Gordon Green confirmed there were versions where Corey survived. One where he returned to "normal" and another where "If you’re going to continue the franchise in some form beyond me, then you take him and he dons the mask and its Shape 2.0 or whatever the variation might be." Green stepped back from this, though a Corey spin-off sounds like an intriguing direction to go in.
Why Corey's Halloween Ends Role Is Controversial
To an extent, many of the Halloween movies are just copying the formula of the original. A Corey spin-off would have allowed it to explore how - despite Michael's death - his evil could continue to live on and infect others. Of course, Michael Myers is the star of the show, so many fans likely wouldn't want that. That's why Corey Halloween Ends role has been so controversial. The character was added by Green to offer a fresh perspective on the Michael/Laurie dynamic, and to explore how the collective trauma and grief of a town could turn a troubled teenager into a killer.
The amount that Corey dominates Halloween Ends is a surprise, and it would be fair to call him the main character. However, the issue is that he not only scores a bigger body count than Myers but that he also beats up Michael/The Shape too. This underlines the sequel turning Michael from an unstoppable boogeyman into human being - itself a divisive move - while positioning Corey as the "stronger" character. Of course, Corey pays the price, but it's a moment that angered many devotees. For all the work setting him up as the new Shape, it's a shame Green shut the door so firmly on another outing exploring him further.
Corey's Plot Was The Best Part Of Halloween Ends
There's a lot to take issue with in Halloween Ends, including a confused tone and the sense it wasn't the concluding chapter the last two movies were building towards. The saddest part is that if Corey's storyline was featured in an original slasher movie, it likely would have received more praise. The sequel does a more interesting job exploring his psychology than Rob Zombie's Halloween remake did with young Michael, and his descent makes for Halloween End's best moments. Controversial as a Corey-led Halloween movie might have been, the groundwork that was already laid for a pretty interesting one.