As the sequel is finally making progress, writer/director Michael Dougherty reveals that Trick ‘r Treat 2 will not feature the original horror movie’s cast. The 2007 anthology film wove together a variety of stories in a small Ohio town, including a high school principal with a murderous streak and a shy woman who may not be as much of victim as she appears. Though mostly disconnected, Trick ‘r Treat‘s multiple tales shared one sole tie in the form of Sam, a mysterious trick-or-treater donning orange pajamas and a burlap sack over his head.
With an ensemble cast including Dylan Baker, Brian Cox and Anna Paquin, Trick ‘r Treat scored largely favorable reviews upon is premiere, with critics praising its consistent tone, chilling atmosphere and subversive stories. With it initially only getting a straight-to-DVD release, the film would go on to become a cult favorite, leaving many audiences hopeful for a proper follow-up. After over a decade of expressing his hopes for a sequel, Trick ‘r Treat 2 is finally in active development at Legendary Pictures with Dougherty returning, though he may be the only one audiences know from the first film back.
In a recent interview with Nerdist, Michael Dougherty opened up about the development of the long-awaited Trick ‘r Treat 2. When asked about how the sequel will tie into the first film, the writer/director confirmed that none of the original horror movie’s cast will feature in the follow-up, nor will Sam’s origins be explored in any medium. See what Dougherty shared below:
No, because I feel like that’s very much American Horror Story‘s approach and style. I’d rather stay consistent. If I’m bringing cast members back, it would be in the same roles, not that that’s currently a plan within the piece. To me, it would throw me off. I do like it in American Horror Story. I think it works for them, but it’d also feel like we’re just ripping them off if we did that. If I’ve learned anything from this experience, it’s all about patience and persistence.
I think Freddy works, but at the same time, we never saw it [the origin], I guess. I think Freddy’s origin is an exception because it only made him scarier. To know who he was, this serial killer who went around killing kids and was eventually beheaded by justice, only added to his mystery and his power. But I think a mistake they made was they kept explaining it. They kept adding more layers like, ‘Oh, he also made a deal with these three dream demons.’ It’s one thing to create a fun, mysterious origin for a character, but I feel like a lot of studios over the years have sort of overthought it. They just start adding too much to the point of it being layered with all the layers.
Like with the Halloween stuff [in Halloween 5 and 6] where it’s like cults, and the curse, and these tattoos. I was like, ‘What the f*ck are you talking about?’ With Sam, there are definitely aspects of his lore and his mythology that we could expand on, and I hope to in terms of how he comes back year after year, where he goes to, and things like that, but I would never do any sort of flashback to ancient Ireland and show some kid being sacrificed and throw him to a pumpkin creature. That would just ruin his mystique.
Trick ‘r Treat 2 Update Is Very Promising For Horror Genre Fans
Dougherty’s confirmation that none of the original Trick ‘r Treat cast will return for the upcoming sequel actually proves very promising for the horror movie follow-up. Had Ryan Murphy not made it a recurring trope throughout American Horror Story, the concept of bringing back actors for new roles could have worked for the long-awaited Trick ‘r Treat 2. Additionally, with the storylines involving Anna Paquin’s Laurie and Quinn Lord’s Sam largely open, the door seemed open for various actors to return, though Dougherty’s update seems to make that no longer the case, save for maybe the latter, who could be played by a new actor.
Regardless of how one feels about the original cast not returning for Trick ‘r Treat 2, Dougherty’s note that he will never offer a proper confirmation for Sam should come as a promising one for horror genre fans. As he notes, the more any franchise mascot has their backstory endlessly built upon, namely Halloween‘s Michael Myers, it ultimately derails the series they belong to into overly convoluted lore that generally alienates their fan bases. With Dougherty assuring Sam’s origin story will remain a mystery, one can only hope he still makes some kind of return for Trick ‘r Treat 2 whenever it finally gets off the ground.
Source: Nerdist
