The Halloween franchise began in 1978. Since then, it has released several movies, and not all have been connected. The series might have come to a supposed conclusion with Halloween Ends, but the reboot trilogy only added to the confusion of the franchise and knowing which movies are canon. As a matter of fact, claiming anything is canon depends on the viewer, the filmmaker, and even the cast, as there are four different timelines and a standalone movie that has nothing to do with Michael Myers.

Halloween introduced the audience to Michael Myers, who, on Halloween night, 1963, killed his older sister. Fifteen years later, Michael escaped and returned to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he terrorized Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. Laurie and Michael came face to face again four decades after their first encounter in David Gordon Green’s Halloween, in 2018, which marked the beginning of a new trilogy. However, there are other timelines in the Halloween movie series.

Halloween Movies In Release Order

The Franchise Began In 1978 With Director John Carpenter

Taking Rob Zombie’s Halloween remakes into account, the Halloween franchise has a total of 13 movies. First is Carpenter’s 1978 Halloween, followed by Halloween II. The series took a turn, leaving Haddonfield, Michael Myers, and Laurie behind in Halloween III: Season of the Witch. It returned to the Michael Myers timeline in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, now with Laurie’s daughter, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), as the lead character.

Michael’s story continued in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers, bringing the Cult of Thorn into the mix. Then came Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and Halloween: Resurrection before the remakes Halloween and Halloween II by Rob Zombie. The Halloween series then moved forward with the reboot trilogy, beginning with Halloween and followed by Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends. However, as the saga has undergone changes that have made way for different timelines, not all movies are canon.

Which Halloween Movies Are Canon

When it comes to which Halloween movies are canon, it depends on the timeline. The original timeline starts with John Carpenter’s original movie and the sequel, which starts immediately after the events of that story. It then continues into three different timelines. With the new movies, the first two timelines are no longer canon but are basically alternate-world stories. In one, it picks up with Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and ends with Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.

These movies see Laurie Strode ᴅᴇᴀᴅ before the fourth movie, and her daughter Jamie Lloyd is the new heroine after that. The franchise has a new mythology, with the Cult of Thorn as the real reason for Michael Myers’s murderous rampage. After the sixth movie, the studio wiped out that timeline and started over from the events of the second movie with Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. This ignores the Cult of Thorn, and Jamie Lloyd was never born, with Laurie still alive.

This timeline only lasts for two movies, and Laurie Strode dies on screen this time, with Michael Myers killing her. After Halloween: Resurrection was a failure, this timeline was also ignored. Rob Zombie then made his two movies, which basically remade the franchise and had nothing to do with the canon storylines. Finally, David Gordon Green created his trilogy, which ignored all but the first movie from 1978 and finished Michael Myers’s story in Halloween Ends in 2022.

This means that for the new movies, the only ones that are canon are the first and the three David Gordon Green films: Halloween, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends. Of course, anyone who doesn’t care about the new trilogy can always consider the first and second movies canon and either go with the Cult of Thorn or H20 and Resurrection. At the same time, the only movie that is 100% canon without an argument is John Carpenter’s 1978 original classic.

Why Some Halloween Movies Aren’t Canon

Some Movies Have Nothing To Do With John Carpenter’s Original

The Halloween franchise has gone through so many changes and retcons that some movies are often forgotten, and some don’t count as canon, depending on the timeline. The one that isn’t considered canon in any timeline is Halloween III, as it’s a story separate from the Michael Myers/Laurie storyline. Instead, it follows a doctor and a young woman who are trying to stop the Silver Shamrock company from killing hundreds of children as part of an ancient pagan ritual related to Samhain.

This was an interesting film because John Carpenter, who produced the first three movies, wanted new, fresh Halloween stories each year and wasn’t planning on a franchise that only cared about Michael Myers. The studio had other ideas, so Carpenter left the franchise he helped create.

The reboot trilogy chose to ignore all the movies after John Carpenter’s Halloween to serve as a direct continuation, so in the current Halloween timeline, none of the films after the 1978 classic are canon. However, the new Halloween movies have referenced or mirrored events from the now-ignored sequels, including Halloween III with the inclusion of Silver Shamrock’s masks.

As for the rest, as each timeline covers a different story – such as Michael and Laurie being siblings, Michael targeting Jamie, Laurie faking her death, and Michael escaping Smith’s Grove 40 years later – the movies that don’t fit the narrative are not canon as far as the new trilogy is concerned. The Halloween franchise can be confusing due to its various retcons, and which movies are canon depends on the timeline. Once a new Halloween movie arrives, there is a chance David Gordon Green’s trilogy won’t be canon anymore, either.

Will There Be More Halloween Movies?

There Will Likely Always Be A New Halloween Movie In The Works

With how many Halloween movies there have been, it seems strange to think about a time when the franchise is truly over. David Gordon Green’s Halloween movies were always envisioned as a new trilogy, with Halloween Ends marking the definitive end of that story. Green seems to have attempted to leave no room for ambiguity about the story being over, but there are always ways for Michael Myers to return.

Jason Blum reveals that, despite the death of Michael in Halloween Ends, he would be happy to continue with the franchise. Blum revealed (via ComicBook.com) the original deal for Blumhouse to produce the new Halloween trilogy:

“We had a three-picture marriage with Michael Myers. I would love to extend it…”

Blum gave no hint as to how this would work, whether it would be a new timeline, another reboot, or a follow-up to the original idea of a Halloween anthology movie series. John Carpenter, the man who started the franchise, had the most practical view of whether there would be more Michael Myers after Halloween Ends: “if you take a dollar sign and attach it to anything, there will be somebody who wants to do a sequel. It will live. If the dollar sign is not big enough, no matter what, it will not live.“

Halloween

Created by

John Carpenter, Debra Hill

First Film

Halloween

Latest Film

Halloween Ends

Cast

Jamie Lee Curtis, Nick Castle, James Jude Courtney, Donald Pleasence, Brian Andrews, Anthony Michael Hall, Kyle Richards, Nancy Stephens, Charles Cyphers, Andi Matichak, Judy Greer

Summary

The Halloween franchise, created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, is one of the longest-running horror franchises in cinema. Debuting with Halloween (1978), it introduced audiences to Michael Myers, a masked killer terrorizing the fictional town of Haddonfield on Halloween night. Spanning over 13 films, including sequels, remakes, and reboots, the franchise centers around Michael’s relentless pursuit of his original target, Laurie Strode. Halloween has become a cultural staple, inspiring the slasher genre and generating comics, novels, and video games, with a new television series currently in development.

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