With both the 4-6 timeline – which featured daughter Jamie – and the H20 movies – which included son John – removed from continuity, 2018’s Halloween gave Laurie Strode a new child in the form of Karen Nelson nee Strode, as played by Judy Greer. The movie focused on all three generations of Strode women – Laurie, Karen and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) – as they faced off against Michael Myers. And they’ll do it again in upcoming sequel Halloween Kills.
One big question was left unanswered in the last film, though, when it comes to Karen: Who’s her dad? If you were thinking this would be cleared up in Kills, think again, as we actually just got the answer. Blumhouse recently hosted a watch party for the 2019 movie, with director David Gordon Green answering questions via the studio’s Twitter account. In response to one fan, Green revealed that not even Laurie knows the identity of Karen’s father.
“Some dude Laurie met at a bar,” he said. “She doesn’t even remember his name.”
Some dude Laurie met at a bar. She doesn't even remember his name. #HalloweenAtHome https://t.co/WzsIhc5igB
— Blumhouse (@blumhouse) May 16, 2020
Across the Halloween franchise, Laurie’s always been an independent woman, and while she’s had relationships here and there, she’s mostly been portrayed as single. So, it fits that Karen would be the result of some one-night stand. Again, the focus is on the connection between these different women in the modern films, so it makes sense not to focus on Karen’s father, just as her husband was offed in the last movie.
That said, some fans might’ve been hoping for at least a reference to her dad in the second one, with him revealed to be a character we met or who was referenced in a previous entry in the franchise. Bennett Tramer could’ve been a strong contender, as he was mentioned as a boy Laurie liked back in 1978’s Halloween. But apparently that’s not the case, unless Green is deliberately throwing us off here.