First Look At Halloween Ends At CinemaCon Shows Jamie Lee Curtis Get The Upper Hand On Michael Myers In A Killer Way

Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode in Halloween Kills
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

A classic cinematic battle will come to an end in 2022. Laurie Strode and Michael Myers have been facing off on the big screen since 1978 when John Carpenter launched the beloved Halloween franchise, and later this year we will see the conclusion of their conflict in David Gordon Green's Halloween Ends. It's an emotional time for the stars, filmmakers, and fans.

The film follows up the events from 2018's Halloween and 2021's Halloween Kills, and based on the first look footage from CinemaCon that premiered today, it appears that Jamie Lee Curtis' legendary final girl is going to get the opportunity for major revenge against The Boogeyman when the film hits theaters in October.

Universal Pictures hosted their presentation at the annual Las Vegas convention for theater owners this afternoon, and among the most exciting footage projected was a sneak peek at what audiences can expect from Halloween Ends. We only got a brief look at the exciting horror film, but the tease certainly suggests that fans will have a whole lot to cheer for.

Following a quick look back at the history of the Halloween franchise, with clips from the original, the 2018 movie, and Halloween Kills, the Halloween Ends footage began with a shot of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) hiding in a house in the dark. As she tries to keep as quiet as possible, Michael Myers lurks nearby in the kitchen – clearly hunting her. Standing next to a window, her head is by a cord for the blinds that keeps rapping against the wall, and she grabs it to silence it, hoping that the killer won't be made aware of her location.

After a moment of calm, it's actually Laurie who attacks Michael with a knife, and the two get in a vicious fight. It starts off badly for our hero, who loses her weapon, gets her head slammed into a glass cabinet, and is then thrown across the kitchen – but this puts her in the position to reacquire her blade. She raises the knife above her head, and slams it down through Michael's hand, seemingly pinning him to the counter.

In the final shot from the brief Halloween Ends first look, Laurie has Michael prone and unable to move in the dark, and as she brings the knife up to stab him... but then it cut to black.

Based on what happens in the final seconds of Halloween Kills, namely Michael Myers killing Laurie Strode's daughter (Judy Greer's Karen Nelson), the beloved horror heroine is unquestionably going to be filled with rage and the urge for revenge in Halloween Ends, and it's hard not to be excited about where that will lead. It's obviously not going to be an easy task for Laurie to destroy the monster who has been terrorizing her for decades, and it feels safe to assume that the footage we got to see isn't part of the surprising ending of the upcoming movie, but we have high hopes for a satisfying conclusion to the reboot trilogy in the Halloween franchise.

Halloween Ends has a great cast coming back for all the slasher action, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Kyle Richards, Andi Matichak, and James Jude Courtney as The Shape, and hopefully the time between now and the titular holiday will ultimately just feel like a blink. The film just wrapped production back in March, and cinephiles will be able to see the anticipated sequel in theaters everywhere around the country on October 14.

Check out our 2022 Movie Release Calendar to learn about all of the films headings to theaters between now and the end of the year.

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.