John Carpenter says he only cares about his paycheck from Halloween sequels

John Carpenter holding a Halloween vinylJohn Carpenter/Instagram

John Carpenter has admitted he doesn’t care about any Halloween movies beyond his own – except for the pay checks, of course.

In 1978, Carpenter created the template for the modern slasher movie with Halloween. Try as they might, there’s yet to be a sequel that has recaptured the original’s terrifying magic, often opting for gore over scares in lieu of a master behind the camera.

He served as a producer on Halloween II and the underrated Season of the Witch, and returned to compose the rebooted trilogy. Otherwise, he’s stayed far away from the smattering of follow-up movies, including a remake and its own sequel.

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Soon, Blumhouse’s series will conclude with Halloween Ends. If you’re expecting Carpenter to feel emotional about it, don’t – he doesn’t care about any of the sequels.

John Carpenter only cares about the money from Halloween sequels

During an appearance at Steel City Con, Carpenter spoke about Halloween Ends and his attitudes to the sequels, particularly after 1988’s Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers revived the franchise without him at the helm.

As per Comic Book, he said: “I don’t care about the Halloween sequels. I made the first one as a director, and that’s the only one I care about except for the paycheck I get for the others.

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“I hate to be that kind of a guy, but that’s the truth.”

Halloween may continue after Halloween Ends, John Carpenter says

In an interview with The New Yorker, Carpenter spoke about sequels and remakes, and the reality that “if a movie makes enough money, you can be assured that it will” likely be resurrected somehow.

He was then asked if Halloween Ends will “definitely, finally be the last one”, to which he replied: “I will have to see how much money it makes!”

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Earlier this month, Carpenter offered a similar viewpoint while talking to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, saying: “If the movie makes money, I don’t believe it’s the end. There’s a way of when a movie makes money, it seems to resurrect the next one.”

Halloween Ends will be released in cinemas on October 14.