If you’re a fan of horror movies, you’re probably familiar with A24, the studio behind some of the most acclaimed and original horror movies of the past decade. Think of Hereditary, The Witch, The Lighthouse, Midsommer, and The Green Knight. All these movies have one thing in common, which really separates A24 from other studios that focus on producing horror—the fright in their narratives isn’t produced by simple jump-scares or gory slashers. No, these are the movies that challenge, disturb, and haunt you long after the credits have rolled.
So, the fan excitement over the possibility of A24 acquiring rights to one of the most iconic and beloved horror franchises of all time, Halloween, is nothing short of intriguing. The rights to the franchise were previously held by Miramax and Blumhouse Productions, who bought them after Dimension Films failed to get the development of Halloween Returns off the ground. Miramax and Blumhouse bought the rights with plans to co-finance a Halloween movie but have ended up producing three Halloween films, which were, admittedly, reasonably successful.
However, the rights to the intellectual property reverted to producer Malek Akkad following the release of Halloween Ends in 2022, after which the producer’s Trancas International Films company went shopping around the film and TV rights to Halloween, trying to get the next project underway. For the purpose of this discussion, it’s also important to note that Miramax still co-owns the film rights with Trancas, while the latter is the sole owner of all television rights to Halloween.
This got the fandom thinking about what would happen if A24 got their hands on the TV rights to Halloween, a television series within the franchise that aims to introduce us to the silent and relentless killer Michael Myers. That’s the question many Halloween and horror fans have been asking themselves as the bidding war for the Halloween TV rights exploded, with production companies left and right bidding for a shot at one of the most iconic horror franchises.
A24 was among the forerunners in the massive bidding race for television rights, along with Miramax, but also Blumhouse, Netflix, Amazon, and HBO Max. As per various reports, A24 and Miramax were the two main parties engaged in the battle for TV rights, and for the majority of the bidding war, A24 was leading the charge. Of course, the horror-and dread-loving fans were excited over the possibility of A24 creating a Halloween television show, sparking numerous debates on how an A24-produced Halloween show would look like.
Would it be faithful to the original version directed by John Carpenter, who invented the franchise along with Debra Hill in 1978? Would the studio reinvent the Halloween mythology and the complete lore of Michael Myers and his victims? Or would it simply be a standalone anthology series or the continuation of the existing franchise timeline? Unfortunately, there aren’t any clear answers to these questions, but we can certainly speculate based on A24’s track record and style.
The company is known for producing artistic, psychologically disturbing, and mind-bending horror films that are greatly appreciated by those looking for more than mere cheap thrills associated with jump-scare horrors. Most of their movies share a rather similar approach centered on ambiguity, bleak atmosphere, disruptive formulas, outbursts of violence, and psychological dilemmas sprinkled with realistic character drama.
This means that an A24-produced Halloween could potentially offer a fresh and innovative take on the already established franchise and dive deeper into the psychology of its most iconic killer, as well as his victims and survivors. Of course, playing with an already-established franchise isn’t without its risks. Changing the recipe too much could end up alienating a part of the fan base that prefers the old Halloween, especially if A24 takes some creative licenses and ends up changing the things the audience already appreciates.
The more “stalwart” and slow-to-change aspects of the fan base could find the A24 approach to the franchise to be a bit slow or even pretentious and boring, considering that the company produces movies often referred to as “elevated horror.” So, whether an A24 Halloween would be a match made in heaven for hardcore fans ultimately depends on the personal preference and expectations of those watching. We’d say that one thing is certain: it would be a daring and bold move with the potential to generate plenty of buzz and curiosity among horror fans.
In the end, some development is better than no development at all, and it’s almost certain that one segment of the Halloween fandom wouldn’t like the A24-produced series, while others most definitely would. Unfortunately, we won’t find that out in the foreseeable future, as Trancas International Films reached an agreement with Miramax and sold the television rights to the company that already co-owns the film rights. The financial details surrounding the sale of television rights weren’t disclosed.
So with A24 having lost the race for Halloween television rights, we can only speculate on how great the Halloween television show would’ve been. However, the company did win the rights to produce a Friday the 13th television series titled Crystal Lake, which is expected to arrive sometime in 2024.
