Director Henry Selick is hinting he might be interested in developing a prequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas, the acclaimed dark-fantasy film he’d created some thirty years ago.
In an interview this week with People magazine, Selick downplayed the idea of a sequel, however. He described the original film as “a perfect movie” that he saw “grow into something far bigger over the years.”
Released in 1993 by Touchstone, the original Nightmare film was a stop-motion animated film based on a story that Tim Burton had created. It narrates the saga of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, as he encounters his counterparts in Christmas Town. Skellington was so impressed with his experience there that he concocted a plot to kidnap Santa Claus in order to spread some Yuletide cheer among the ghosts and goblins in his own realm.
Selick was quoted in People as adding, “I think Tim [Burton] in particular feels like, why mess with that? He certainly doesn’t need to make more money from a sequel. He has had so many other successes, and so far nobody’s come up with a great idea for a sequel. And I still think that Tim gets to decide. I don’t think there’s any idea that would convince him.”
Raising the possibility he might be interested in a prequel, however, Selick said “There might be a more interesting story there about how Jack became the King of Halloween Town.
Chris Sarandon, who voiced Jack Skellington in Nightmare, has said he would “absolutely” reprise his role in a new version. “To quote Henry, ‘Fuck yeah,’ ” he told said. “If there were a sequel, I’d be there in a minute.”
Besides Sarandon, the other actors in the voice cast included Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, and Ed Ivory. The Nightmare Before Christmas was later reissued by Disney Pictures and is currently streaming on Disney+.