Halloween Kills is the horror sequel to 2018’s Halloween that is currently haunting theaters and streaming on Peacock. Both films are part of a trilogy by co-writer and director David Gordon Green, which will conclude next year with Halloween Ends. While many critics are raving about both films so far, it’s a somewhat unusual turn for Green as a director, who helmed the hit stoner comedy Pineapple Express in 2008.
Actor Bob Odenkirk similarly has made the leap from being rooted in comedy to taking on more serious roles, such as the John Wick-esque actioner Nobody and his profound dramatic portrayal of Jimmy McGill, the up and coming lawyer who slips into the conman ways of his former life in Better Call Saul.
To illustrate just how seemingly co-current these artistic transformations were, it turns out Odenkirk actually makes a brief cameo in an unusual way in Green’s newest film.
Per ComicBook, the director recently revealed that when attempting to find a yearbook photo of one of Michael Myer’s victims from the 1978 film, he decided to use a high school-aged picture of Odenkirk that he stumbled upon instead. Odenkirk somewhat resembled original actor John Michael Graham, whose likeness wasn’t able to be used due to rights issues, Green explained.
“In the original [John] Carpenter film, the Bob character, I wanted to have acknowledgment of all the deaths from the previous film, but we couldn’t track [the actor] down or get the rights, Green told CinemaBlend. “Somehow we couldn’t clear an image of Bob for our television news broadcast. And so I was frustrated by that because I wanted to acknowledge Bob’s death, but we couldn’t get footage of Bob. So I Googled ‘Bob 1970s High School,’ and a photo of Bob Odenkirk popped up that looked just like Bob! So I thought, ‘He’s probably easier to find; let’s go get him!'”
You can watch Halloween Kills in theaters and on Peacock now.