The new teaser trailer for Halloween Kills gave viewers a glimpse of the reboot's Tommy Doyle, played by franchise newcomer Anthony Michael Hall. The character, who first appeared as a young boy in John Carpenter's 1978 original Halloween, is just one of a handful of figures making a return to the franchise. Hall was cast to take over the role from Brian Andrews in the second installment that serves as a direct sequel to the movie that first introduced Michael Myers. The figure of Tommy was also prominent in 1995's Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, which featured Paul Rudd portraying an older version of Andrews' character. The sixth film has since been retconned from continuity for David Gordon Green's Blumhouse trilogy.
In the original film, Tommy was the young boy that heroine Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) babysat the night that Michael went on a rampage. The night before, the madman broke out of Smith's Grove Sanitarium before returning to his hometown of Haddonfield. The next morning he witnessed Laurie walking with Tommy, and the killer stalked her for the rest of the day. That Halloween night, Laurie was babysitting Tommy while Michael was massacring some of her friends across the street. The teen was looking after Tommy and young neighbor, Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards), when Michael followed Laurie to the Doyle house. The kids were able to run to safety while Laurie fought off her masked attacker.
Halloween 6 focused on Michael's attempt to kill the last remaining members of the Strode family. Well into his twenties, Tommy was still living in Haddonfield, but he resided in a boarding house as a recluse. Following his encounter with Michael 17 years prior, Tommy became obsessed with Michael's actions and the mystery regarding the man's motives. He then became involved with protecting the surviving members of the Strode family after discovering a dark curse that took hold of Michael. Now that Rudd's version of an adult Tommy has been scrapped from continuity, viewers can meet an interpretation that better connects to the Halloween reboot.
Anthony Michael Hall's Tommy Doyle Fits Halloween's Theme Of Longterm Trauma
Hall appeared in a handful of revealing scenes in the recent Halloween Kills teaser. Before walking through town with a baseball bat, Tommy can be seen loading a gun that was presumably kept hidden in a tackle box. This version of Tommy would be well into middle age, proven by his grizzled look and severe demeanor. Unlike Rudd's version, who was actively researching Michael, Hall's character looked like he attempted to forget what had occurred 40 years prior, only to fail like Laurie's situation. The fact that he had weapons at the ready indicates that he expected another encounter with the boogeyman that haunted him as a kid.
Laurie's PTSD remains a major factor in the new Halloween trilogy. The terror she endured had an effect on her life for decades, including the relationship with her daughter, Karen (Judy Greer), and granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak). While the Strode women must once again come together to face Michael, so will the rest of Haddonfield. The Shape might be a topic of legends, but there are plenty of people in town like Tommy that carried that trauma around since Michael's massacre in 1978. Tommy might be hardened based on his past, but he looks prepared to face his boogeyman once again in Halloween Kills.
