Henry Selick may believe a “Nightmare Before Christmas” sequel isn’t necessary, but a prequel to the stop-motion animated classic could be worth pursuing.
In a recent interview with People magazine, director Selick shared his idea for a potential prequel as “The Nightmare Before Christmas” turns 30.
“There might be a more interesting story there about how Jack became the King of Halloweentown,” he said.
As for a sequel, Selick explained that the large amount of work isn’t what would deter him from creating a follow-up — rather, he just believes “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is “a perfect movie [that] came out of the perfect time, only to grow into something far bigger over the years.”
“I think Tim [Burton] in particular feels like, why mess with that?” Selick added. “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.”
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” follows Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon), the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, who has grown tired of the same routine of frightening people. After stumbling upon Christmastown, Jack devises a plan to take over the joyous holiday.
Chris Sarandon, who provided the speaking voice of Jack in the 1993 classic, would “absolutely” be on board to reprise his role of Jack in another film.
“To quote Henry, ‘Fuck yeah,’” Sarandon told People. “If there were a sequel, I’d be there in a minute.”
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is available to stream on Disney+.