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'Halloween Ends' features a cameo from the original Michael Myers
The original Shape, Nick Castle, finally gets to take off the mask for the new film.
When the Halloween franchise booted back up with the simply titled Halloween back in 2018, director David Gordon Green cast the imposing James Jude Courtney as the new Michael Myers, but Courtney wasn't the only actor to don the mask in that film. As a nod to John Carpenter's 1978 original, Green also drafted Nick Castle, the original Michael Myers, to return for a couple of shots in a cameo. Now, Castle's back again for Halloween Ends, but he's not where you might think.
As he did with previous films in the sequel trilogy, Castle -- a friend of Carpenter's who took the Michael Myers role in the low-budget original Halloween in part so he could spend time on the set -- did play Michael Myers again for Ends, providing the famously creepy breathing sounds for the characters and perhaps even taking a cameo in the mask for a shot or two (we don't have confirmation of that just yet). But this time around, Castle also got a chance to appear without the mask, and you can find him in the midst of one of the film's most chaotic sequences.
When Allyson (Andi Matichak) takes her date Corey (Rohan Campbell) to a Halloween party at Lindsey Wallace's (Kyle Richards) bar, Corey eventually starts to panic as his past comes back to haunt him, and ends up scrambling around the room when he bumps into an older man in a trench coat. When he encounters Corey, the man pulls the coat open to reveal that he's covered his body with fake human organs, and grins as he asks "See anything you like?"
Corey is, of course, not eager to stick around and talk to this guy, but longtime Halloween fans who've kept up with the behind-the-scenes saga of the franchise will know that's Castle, finally appearing without a mask on after more than 40 years of association with the franchise. A filmmaker himself, Castle also collaborated with Carpenter on the Oscar-winning student film The Resurrection of Broncho Billy, and went on to co-write Carpenter's Escape from New York. As a director, Castle's work includes classics like The Last Starfighter and comedies including Dennis the Menace and Major Payne. Back in August, he shared a photo of himself in a recording booth, laying down Michael Myers breathing sounds "for the last time."
So, if you're rewatching Halloween Ends on Peacock or on the big screen this weekend, take a minute to acknowledge Castle and his contributions to the franchise and beyond. He's earned it.
Looking for more murderous scares? Check out SYFY's Chucky. Season 1 is streaming now on Peacock, and Season 2 is rolling out new episodes every Wednesday on SYFY.
