David Gordon Green on how Donald Pleasence is brought back for Halloween

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

There are plenty of reasons to be a fan of the HALLOWEEN franchise, but personally, I came to love the series because of Donald Pleasence's performance as Dr. Samuel Loomis. Originally serving as Michael Myers' psychiatrist at Smith's Grove Sanitarium, Loomis later became convinced that Myers was pure evil and spent much of his life trying to warn others of the same. Donald Pleasence appeared in HALLOWEEN, HALLOWEEN II, HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS, HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS, and HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS, but he tragically passed away before the release of the sixth HALLOWEEN film. The actor played an important part in the franchise, and it seems that he'll still have a role to play in David Gordon Green's upcoming HALLOWEEN film, which takes place forty years after the events of the first film.

While speaking with Yahoo, David Gordon Green teased just how Dr. Loomis will make his return.

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]. There’s a vocal cameo you may or may not notice till the end credits.

I'd imagine that Dr. Loomis will be heard during a recording of Michael Myers' trial or perhaps in tapes from his psychiatric sessions with Myers. Either way, it's nice to know that Donald Pleasence's legacy in the HALLOWEEN franchise will live on in some small way.

Another face from HALLOWEEN's past, albeit one from behind-the-scenes, is also involved with the new film – John Carpenter. In addition to voicing his support of David Gordon Green's HALLOWEEN, Carpenter will also be compsing the score. Carpenter's involvement was essential to both producer Jason Blum and director David Gordon Green, with both admitting that they likely wouldn't have proceeded had Carpenter objected. "I don’t think I would have done it [without Carpenter’s blessing]," Green said. "He’s been a big part of this, … he’s doing the score for the film right now, that’s why he’s not [in San Diego for Comic-Con]. I needed him." Jason Blum added, "I think [not getting Carpenter’s OK] would have stopped us. John asked me very specifically, ‘Do I have approvals?’ And then the answer [was], ‘You don’t have approvals, but if you don’t like it, we’re not going to keep going either.’ I think there might have been a movie, but we wouldn’t have been involved either if John wasn’t happy."

HALLOWEEN is set to hit theaters on October 19, 2018.