The unmade Halloween: Asylum would have not only featured the son of Dr. Loomis but a Michael Myers copycat killer too. While followers of the Halloween franchise might defend lesser entries like Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers, few will stand behind Halloween: Resurrection. This 2002 sequel famously undid the ending of H20, where Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie "killed" Michael. This finale was egregiously retconned in Resurrection to keep Michael alive, and the resulting sequel made for a poor slasher.
While - which featured an early Katee Sackhoff role - didn't bomb, its poor reviews and lukewarm box office put the future of the series in question. While Rob Zombie's Halloween movies would ultimately reboot the series, several concepts were developed for a potential Halloween 9. This included the return of Josh Hartnett's John Tate, who would have teamed up with the retired Sheriff Brackett to hunt his killer uncle Michael during a snowstorm. A crossover dubbed Helloween, which would have merged Halloween with Hellraiser, was also considered during this period.
The Halloween movies were produced by Dimension, who also owned the Hellraiser and Children Of The Corn series. When the box-office viability of the latter two waned, Dimension cranked out straight to video sequels for both for many years. They also twice considered this option with Halloween; one version of Halloween H20 (where Michael almost spoke) - was developed as an STV project, and this happened again with Halloween 9. One plan was to shoot Halloween 9 and 10 back to back, with writer John Sullivan brought on to pen both. The first entry Halloween: Haddonfield would have introduced a new hero in the form of Jason Loomis, the son of Donald Pleasence's Sam Loomis. Haddonfield would have detailed Jason's first encounter with Michael Myers, while follow-up Halloween: Asylum would have seen him trapped in an asylum with a brutal Michael Myers copycat.
As covered in the excellent book Taking Shape II by Dustin McNeill and Travis Mullins, Halloween: Asylum might have been more of the most controversial of the series had it been made. The story sees Loomis taking over his father's posting at Smith's Grove sanitarium, which has become something of a high-tech prison since Michael Myers' escape. Due to a storm, the power at the facility is knocked out and all the patients are released. This includes Richard Raines, who believes himself to be the Shape. He's fashioned a mask out of bedsheets and sets out to hunt Jason and the other staff following the lockdown.
The finale of Halloween: Asylum would have found Raines cornering Jason and the only other survivor, a female news reporter. Loomis tries to psych out his would-be killer, acting like his father Sam and pleading to "Michael's" humanity as the only one who tried to help him. This doesn't stop Raines, however, but before he can deliver a killing blow, the real Michael Myers suddenly emerges from the shadows. He kills the copycat and, having heard Loomis' emotional speech, lets the survivors leave.
Both Halloween: Asylum and Haddonfield were developed as something of a backup plan, should efforts to produce an interesting new theatrical sequel fall through. That said, both stories had their merits, and had John Sullivan's Halloween: Asylum being produced, the idea of a Michael Myers copycat and Michael himself sparing potential victims might have enraged fans. That said, it would have been an intriguing twist on the traditional formula, and Smith's Grove would have made for a fun setting.
