Today has been an interesting day for fans of the Halloween franchise. It started with an unverified rumor that spread quickly over social media, and it ended with an official announcement that seemingly disproved the rumor.
In the short time since the announcement there’s been quite a bit of confusion from online fans regarding both the rumor, the announcement, and what it all means.
It has been rumored for quite some time now that Miramax, who has been co-owners of the Halloween film rights since 1994, have been in a bidding war with A24 for the television rights, and today we learned about who came out victorious in that battle.
But today we also got a rumor that may not be quite as contradicted or squashed as it’s believed.
let’s discuss.
TODAY’S RUMOR: It’s going to be announced in the coming weeks that A24 has gained the FILM rights to the ‘Halloween’ series for four films.
TODAY’S OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Miramax, who already co-owns the film rights with Trancas International, has acquired the TELEVISION rights after winning the bidding war.
Can you spot the difference between the rumor and the announcement?
I won’t die on a hill for the rumor — at least until it’s reported from a reputable source — but certainly both CAN be true at the same time. It is entirely possible that the scooper could be correct about the company getting the FILM rights, with a planned announcement on that front coming by the end of month.
It doesn’t have to be a “one or the other” scenario regarding Halloween content for film and television, and you should keep in mind that any announcement from the entertainment industry isn’t made on the same day as the deals are made. Could Malek Akkad and Trancas International have a plan in place to keep the Halloween momentum going with one announcement now about their Television plans and one later in the month about the Films?
Why not?
Miramax and Trancas have co-owned the film rights since 1994, and both have been involved with every film in the series since ‘Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers‘, and yes, that does include the Universal/ Blumhouse trilogy from David Gordon Green. It is very possible that the two co-owners could partner up with A24 for a new series of films like they did with Blumhouse.
Do I believe in the rumor? Not really, at least not at this time, but we should keep in mind that the rumor of the day and the announcement of the day are not mutually exclusive with each other, and the Television announcement may not be the “Gotcha” moment against the FILM rumor that some believe it is.
What does it all mean? Well it just means that Miramax has a bigger piece of the pie than before, and because they now co-own both film and television rights with Trancas International, both mediums can be directly connected. How all parties are going to proceed and with what direction remains to be seen, but I would not be surprised if we get some fresh news regarding the films in the not-to-distant future.
