Has the Season of the Witch returned, in terms of unconscionable decision-making regarding the Shape? Well, at the very least, Titus Peoples and Nigel Harden are threatening to repeat history where the Halloween franchise is concerned. The two creatives – neither have any connection to the series Miramax is developing, for the record – are collaborating on a spec script they hope will become a prequel series to the immensely popular horror franchise.
However, their proposed pitch, titled Loomis, revolves around the character of Dr. Sam Loomis before he ever encounters the homicidal Michael Myers, aka the Shape, in 1963. So, just as the disastrous Halloween III: Season of the Witch did back in 1982, the series wouldn’t include the Shape. Peoples updated the proposal’s status on Facebook as follows:
Pilot episode 90% written. Super early development. Written and developed by Titus Peoples & Nigel Harden.
It’s important to note that Peoples, whose only IMDb credit is as a producer of 2020’s The Cattle Farmer, is teaming with another relatively unknown writer in Harden to try and create a Halloween series which has in no way, shape, or form even been pitched to a major streaming entity like Netflix, Prime, or Hulu. Peoples discussed his and Harden’s Michael Myers-less take, which is treading down the same bumpy and unsuccessful road that director Tommy Lee Wallace’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch did. Peoples wrote in a post on his official Instagram:
“Still very much so in the early development of things, but I’ve always wondered about the life of Dr. Samuel Loomis before getting to Michael.
With the help of my co0creator and co-writer @pbr__papi we will expand on the ‘Halloween’ Mythology with this series.
Pilot episode 90% written…
Ultimate Class Studios going crazy! Pen to pad and belt to ass!
The cases before Michael…”
Loomis Prequel Pitch Is in No Way Connected to Real Halloween Series
While Titus Peoples and Nigel Harden will reportedly try entering their prequel pitch Loomis in screenplay writing competitions and film festivals first, rather than trying to sell the series to a major streaming service (per iHorror), the very real and upcoming Halloween series will “reset” the franchise – but it won’t neglect its key character the way Loomis would. The Head of Worldwide Television at Miramax, Marc Helwig, said in an interview with Deadline earlier this year:
“The foundation of it is the original film, the John Carpenter movie, the characters of that film,
and perhaps a group of characters that we haven’t really focused on that much in recent film versions or even in a number of them.
It’s a creative reset completely and going back to the original film,
as opposed to spinning out of any of the more recent film adaptations.”
Miramax won a substantial bidding war for the TV rights to their upcoming Halloween series back in 2023. “We couldn’t be more excited to bring Halloween to television,” Helwig said in a separate interview (per Deadline). “We are thrilled to expand our long and successful partnership with Trancas and the brilliant Malek Akkad in introducing this iconic franchise to a new form of storytelling and a new generation of fans.”
At the time of this writing, an official release date has not been announced for Miramax’s Halloween series. And for those who haven’t heard Moustapha Akkad’s take on the Michael Myers-less Halloween III: Season of the Witch, check out a clip (1:11:00 mark) from the late producer on righting the ship after excluding the Shape in the suspect sequel (below). Definitely something else for the Loomis creators to take into consideration, too.