New ‘Halloween’ Co-Director Explains the Importance of Casting Jamie Lee Curtis

One of the most surprising and exciting pieces of news to be announced about the upcoming Halloween sequel was that Jamie Lee Curtis would return to the franchise to play Laurie Strode once again. This news came as a shock to fans, but co-writer/co-director David Gordon Green explained it was a simple decision and never considered anyone else could play the character.

When Metro asked Green about the decision, he directly responded, “Because she is Laurie Strode (laughs). Right? I don’t know who else is going to play her?”

More than just knowing that Curtis defined the role, Green professed how much of a joy it’s been working on the project with the actress.

“She’s just really lovely, and lives and works outside the Hollywood norm,” Green admitted. “And I love her spirit. And her character is iconic.”

The decision is rooted in the filmmaker’s own personal experience with the character and Curtis’ portrayal in four of the Halloween films.

“When I’m creating these characters sometimes I’m a movie nerd and I’ve grown up with films my entire life, and the iconic character of Laurie Strode belongs to Jamie Lee Curtis,” Green detailed. “So when I had completed a script I was confident of sharing with her I got on the phone and talked her through it, and was excited to get a call at sunrise the next day.”

Along with the excitement of this casting announcement came confusion, as the character of Laurie Strode died in the eighth film, Halloween: Resurrection. With Curtis being 20 years older than she was in her last appearance, many began to wonder how she could be alive again.

According to Green and co-writer/co-director Danny McBride, this new installment will ignore many of the franchise’s installments after the initial two, which both starred Curtis. It’s unclear as of now exactly how far into the future the story will be set and what Laurie Strode’s life has been like in the 40 years since those first two films.

Recently, reports surfaced that Judy Greer (Jurassic World, Ant-Man) would appear as Laurie Strode’s daughter.

The new Halloween film will be released October 19, 2018.