Paul Rudd was approached to reprise the role of Tommy Doyle in Halloween Kills after his appearance in The Curse of Michael Myers, but he was unable.

Paul Rudd was approached to reprise the role of Tommy Doyle in Halloween Kills. David Gordon Green successfully relaunched the slasher franchise in 2018 with Halloween, bringing back Jamie Lee Curtis for one lost face-off with Michael Myers, the serial killer who has haunted her character, Laurie Strode, since she was a teenager. Solid reviews and a box office haul of $255 million helped the film launch a new trilogy, with the second entry, Halloween Kills, hitting theaters later this year after being delayed because of the pandemic.

In addition to the return of Curtis, who will play Laurie in the final two films, Halloween Kills will bring back Nancy Stephens as Marion Chambers and Charles Cypher as Sheriff Leigh Brackett. Kyle Richards will also be reprising her role as Lindsey Wallace, one of the children Laurie was babysitting during that fateful Halloween night. Halloween Kills will also feature the return of Tommy Doyle, the other child Laurie was babysitting, but this time he will be played by Anthony Michael Hall. Rudd played the character in the 1995 film, Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers, after the role was originated by Brian Andrews.

Now, Total Film reports that Rudd was approached to reprise the role of Tommy Doyle in Halloween Kills. Scheduling conflicts prevented the star from returning in the role. Despite this, Rudd did take some time to give his blessing to his successor, Hall, via a telephone call.

The Halloween revival is part nostalgia reboot, part continuation of the original franchise. Green's films disregard everything that took place in the franchise after the first film, creating a new franchise continuity and picking up with Laurie Strode decades after her first traumatic encounter with Michael. Halloween touched on themes of generational trauma and those look likely to continue in Halloween Kills as the entire town of Haddonfield, Illinois gets swept up in the search for Michael Myers when it is revealed in the sequel that he has returned.

Curtis has called Halloween Kills a timely masterpiece, saying that it uses mob violence to expand on the themes of trauma that were established in the 2018 reboot. With Laurie's daughter and granddaughter, played by Judy Greer and Andi Matichak, respectively, swept up in Michael's latest tirade, the Strode family will make one last final stand against Michael in the next two films. Halloween Kills has been said to be more expansive than the 2018 film before winding down with a more personal ending in Halloween Ends, one Curtis has said will be her final go in the role of Laurie Strode. Whether or not she makes it out alive will be on everyone's minds as the film rapidly approaches release in October.

More: The Halloween Kills Trailer Reveals Exactly How Michael Survived The Fire

Source: Total Film