William Shatner explains where the Michael Myers mask actually came from

William Shatner explains the origins of the Michael Myers mask

It’s fitting that Halloween is right around the corner because every year we get to revisit one film franchise that got started thanks to William Shatner. That’s right, we’re talking the Halloween franchise and Michael Myers. For those new to Trek, or Halloween (the film franchise, or the holiday), let’s catch you up.

The original Michael Myers mask was originally created from a William Shatner prop mask from the set of Star Trek. John Carpenter, the director of the original Halloween film told the art director on the project, Tommy Lee Wallace, to find a mask for the movie. Wallace found an old Shatner mask and painted it white before replacing the hair.

Thus, the Micahel Myers mask was born.

With the newest Halloween film out, Halloween Kills, it seems like a good time to revisit and expand on the history of how the mask came to be.

Jake’s Tales, a YouTube channel(via CBR) interviewed Shatner to discuss the mask and Shatner expanded more about the iconic mask and its origins.

"I don’t remember the exact moment, but I thought, ‘Is that a joke? Are they kidding? I saw the mask, probably in a picture, and I recognized it as the death mask that they had made for me.” The actor also explained what the mask was created for on the set of Star Trek."

Why did Star Trek create the eventual Michale Myers mask?

Now, most of the people reading this may already know where the Michael Myers mask came from. Yet, even the most diehards may not have realized what the mask was originally created for. Wouldn’t ya know it, the mask was made so that Shatner didn’t need to come in to work.

Telling Jake’s Tales, Shatner explains the mask was created so it could be worn by a stand-in (or a dummy head) and be fitted for any type of prosthetics that Shatner may need to wear later on during the shoot.

"They made a mask for my face, on Star Trek, made of clay so that I wouldn’t have to be available for the prosthetics they put on my face. That mask existed in Star Trek, so somewhere along the line someone got that mask and made a mask of it for Halloween."

So there you go, Michael Myers lives because Shatner wanted more leisure time at home. It’s actually the perfect thing when you think about it.

If you’ve not seen the new Halloween film, maybe go check it out on Peacock if you’d like. I saw it, and it’s visually wonderful but that’s about all that can be said about it in my opinion.