Alternate ‘Halloween’ Opening Scene Brought Back Dr. Loomis, Just to Kill Him

Donald Pleasence‘s tortured Dr. Loomis chased Michael Myers on screen for nearly 20 years in the many Halloween sequels, but in the new Halloween, things are different. All the sequels following the first movie are rendered null and void here, which asks a big question: what happened to Dr. Loomis after the end of 1978’s Halloween?

An early screenplay draft of David Gordon Green‘s Halloween offered up an answer: he was murdered by Michael Myers. Green and company originally planned to bring Loomis back in their Halloween opening scene, only to kill him off. Thankfully, original Halloween creator John Carpenter stepped in.

We previously reported on David Gordon Green’s plan to recreate the iconic ending of the original Halloween for his new 2018 film. In case you need a refresher, John Carpenter’s original Halloween concludes with Dr. Loomis shooting Michael Myers six times, saving Laurie Strode’s life and sending Michael sailing over a balcony onto a front lawn. But just when you think Michael is dead, Loomis looks over the balcony to reveal Michale is gone – and his heavy breathing fills the soundtrack, to indicate he’s still out there, and he could be anywhere. But the 2018 film changes things. Michael is in an asylum when the film opens, and has been for 40 years, indicating he was captured at the end of the first film, instead of vanishing into thin air. Director Green was worried that audiences wouldn’t get this, so he had plans to use a “blend of Jamie [Lee Curtis] and a body double similar to 19-year-old Jamie,” while also employing a double for the late Donald Pleasance to recreate, and change, the ending.

Now, we have even more details regarding this nixed Halloween opening. Not only was Green planning on bringing back Dr. Loomis – he wanted to have Michael kill the good doctor as well. According to Bloody Disgusting, an early script draft had Michael choke Loomis to death before Laurie’s eyes. Instead of shooting Michael, The Shape gets the drop on Loomis, strangling him:

“The Shape GRABS LOOMIS’ THROAT and throws him to the wall. Loomis drops the gun on the floor wheezing for breath. The Shape CHOKES Loomis, who struggles against the wall. 2. The Shape’s thumbs crush Loomis’ THROAT. He drops to the ground, DEAD. The Shape looks down at Loomis’ lifeless body.”

After Loomis dies, Laurie picks up the doctor’s gun and attempts to shoot Michael, only to find that the gun is empty. At this point, cops swarm in and take Michael Myers into custody.

Personally, I think this is a bad idea, and I’m glad it didn’t make it into the final film. And I have John Carpenter to thank for that. Speaking with Collider, Carpenter said:

“Originally they were going to have Donald Pleasence’s character get killed. And I thought, ‘That’s a mistake. The audience won’t like that. That’s a revision I don’t think we should do.’ So that was my one big contribution… I thought the fans are gonna get pissed off at that.”

He’s right, folks. The fact of the matter is, there’s only one Dr. Loomis – Donald Pleasence (sorry, Malcolm McDowell). Casting a double to play the character, and then killing him off immediately, would almost seem disrespectful. That said, if this had happened, it wouldn’t be the first time Michael killed Loomis. While we don’t see it happen on screen, it’s heavily implied Michael murders Loomis at the end of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.

As for the new Halloween, Loomis is mentioned briefly in the beginning, and it seems that in this version of the story, the doctor died of natural causes. I’d say he’s earned that.

Halloween Soundtrack 

If you haven’t had enough Halloween news today, here’s something else! The full score for the new film, composed by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, is now available to stream! And it’s fantastic. I actually think it’s better than the original film’s score, as controversial as that may seem.

Halloween opens on October 19, 2018.

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