Nick Castle joins the cast for Halloween Kills. In 1978, the American actor portrayed Michael Myers aka The Shape in John Carpenter’s horror classic Halloween. Thirty years later, Castle reprised the role for David Gordon Green’s slasher sequel of the same name. Earlier this month, Blumhouse officially announced Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, which are scheduled to release in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
As the son of a Hollywood choreographer, Castle was immersed into the industry during his childhood years. While attending the University of Southern California, he met the aforementioned Carpenter, who released his debut feature Dark Star in 1974, followed by Assault in Precinct 13 in 1976. For Carpenter’s third feature, Halloween, Castle became the first actor to portray the now-iconic movie villain, and stunned audiences with his physical performance. Carpenter and Castle reunited to write the 1981 science fiction film Escape from New York, which not only became a box office success, but a cult classic as well. During the ‘90s, Castle directed features such as Dennis the Menace, Major Payne, and Mr. Wrong, but has been mostly out of the spotlight during the the 21st century. For the most recent Halloween installment, he returned for a cameo role, with stunt man James Jude Courtney receiving the official credit as Michael Myers.
On Twitter, Castle announced that he’ll be returning for Halloween Kills. Using the moniker “Nick Castle OG Shape,” he tweeted that “You can't kill the boogeyman. Just heard the news. I'm coming back.” In addition, Castle posted a photoshopped image of Michael Myers grilling hot dogs while holding a drink. In the background, a home burns to the ground. For the latest Halloween movie, co-written by Danny McBride, Jamie Lee Curtis also reprised her famous character Laurie Strode, who she portrayed in the original 1978 film, along with Halloween II, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, and Halloween: Resurrection. Produced for $10 million, Green’s 2018 sequel earned over $255 million at the box office. Alongside Castle and Curtis, supporting roles were filled by Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, and Virginia Gardner. Check out Castle's tweet below.
At 71 years old, Castle will most likely have the same responsibilities for Halloween Kills. For the last movie, he reportedly only had one scene but did indeed record all of Myers’ breathing sounds during post-production. Meanwhile, Halloween’s screenwriter, McBride, is currently busy with his new comedy series The Righteous Gemstones, set to premiere August 18 on HBO. In the past, McBride and Green collaborated for the HBO series Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals, both of which have significantly different narrative tones than their Halloween film.
For Halloween fans, the casting of Castle implies that Green and McBride are sticking to the script, so to speak. While their sequel will undoubtedly be inventive and darkly comic, audiences can expect the duo to be true to Carpenter original vision. In 2020, Halloween Kills will be just one of several horror reboots, but only one has Nick Castle, the original Michael Myers.
Source: Nick Castle