The upcoming “rebootquel” of Halloween feels like the most authentic entry in the series in years because it has Jamie Lee Curtis back as Laurie Strode. Unfortunately, though, another icon of the franchise can’t be in it as he’s no longer with us anymore. Of course, we’re talking about Donald Pleasence, who played the heroic psychiatrist Dr. Loomis, who was always trying to hunt down Michael Myers. That said, the producers of the movie still found a clever way to bring the character back for a respectful nod.
Director David Gordon Green recently spoke to Yahoo and revealed that Loomis will feature in some form as they managed to get hold of a “Donald Pleasence soundalike” who provided a “vocal cameo.” Green’s confident that the addition works, too, as he believes the soundalike “nailed it.”
“We have a Donald Pleasence soundalike. Because obviously he’s no longer with us, but having someone that could mimic his voice was a fun challenge. And we nailed it, I think. If I do say so myself. And then there’s a couple other [nods to the past films].”
The director went on to tease that there’s another vocal cameo in Halloween that refers back to past entries in the franchise as well. He didn’t reveal who it is, but he did hint that it might fly over viewers’ heads until they see the name come up in the end credits.
“There’s a vocal cameo you may or may not notice till the end credits.”
As has been well-documented, Halloween will break away from every entry in the series apart from the legendary original. That means that the long-held subplot of Michael and Laurie being siblings is now just an urban myth, as teased in the trailer. Given that, it’s nice that the film will still find time to work in these nods to the past as an acknowledgement of what’s come before.
Get ready to return to Haddonfield this fall when Halloween hits cinemas on October 19th.