Rob Zombie’s Halloween is well-known for expanding on the backstory and psychology of Michael Myers through a much more detailed look at young Michael’s life and experience. Whether fans approved or disapproved of this plot direction, the actor who played young Michael, Daeg Faerch, was highly praised for his work with the role. Unfortunately, Faerch did not return for Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2, leaving many fans confused.
The young actor had primarily been involved in theatrical acting prior to his film debut in Zombie’s Halloween in 2007, participating in shows like Grapes of Wrath and Waiting for Godot. After Halloween, Faerch went on to play a small role in 2008’s Hancock, and then took part in several film projects including TV series Pushing Daisies and the thriller movie Sebastian.
Clearly a talented actor who was very successful in bringing the young Michael Myers to life on screen, it was a confusing choice for director Rob Zombie to have him replaced just two years later. In fact, Faerch was initially signed on for Zombie's Halloween sequel and even went so far as to be part of the initial screen tests for Halloween 2 before it was decided he would be replaced by a different actor. Faerch had grown taller in the two years since Halloween’s release, and Zombie felt he no longer fit the look that he wanted for young Michael. Despite what must have been a great disappointment for the actor, he’s maintained only positive feelings about his work with Rob Zombie on Halloween, and still regularly talks about how much he enjoyed working on the movie. While Faerch clearly doesn’t have any hard feelings over the replacement, that doesn’t mean it didn’t still hurt the film.
For a Halloween remake already on thin ice with many fans, it was an incredibly controversial choice to part ways with arguably the best part of the first movie in the series for Halloween 2, which was Faerch’s performance. The movie really needed everything it could get to help make it succeed, and unfortunately, it really never accomplished what it set out to do. Regardless of Faerch having grown a bit in the years between the two movies, there’s only two years between the release dates of the films, so it’s unlikely he could have looked that much older in the film tests for Halloween 2. While Faerch certainly wouldn’t have saved the unfortunate sequel, his presence would have given more continuity to the movie and would have improved the overall finish.
It’s not difficult to make an actor look younger or shorter, even without de-aging CGI techniques. This can be easily accomplished through camera tricks like forced perspective or giving other actors lifts. Ultimately, it’s a confusing and disappointing decision that Rob Zombie made to replace Daeg Faerch in Halloween 2, but it’s clear that the actor is still going on to do bigger and better things now as an adult, even if fans likely can’t expect to see him in another Halloween movie.