Following the recent reveal of the first poster for the upcoming Halloween from Blumhouse Productions and Universal Pictures comes the news that the 1978 original’s writer, director, and composer John Carpenter will return to provide the score for the new film.

The news was confirmed on Twitter by Blumhouse founder and Halloween producer Jason Blum, who responded to a query about the score. Carpenter is also serving as an executive producer on the film, which is directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay he co-wrote with Danny McBride.

Jamie Lee Curtis is returning to the Halloween franchise as Laurie Strode, the resilient heroine who first faced down silent psychopath Michael Myers 40 years ago and made the actress an international star and horror icon. Curtis later reprised the role for 1981’s Halloween II and 1998’s Halloween: H20. Nick Castle, who played Michael in the original (and also co-wrote Escape from New York with Carpenter), will once again don the boogeyman’s signature inside-out William Shatner mask to slay some unsuspecting victims under Green’s direction.

Curtis and Castle are being joined in the new Halloween by Judy Greer as Laurie’s daughter and Andi Matichak as her granddaughter. Green’s film will be a direct sequel to the original, ignoring every sequel and remake made in the decades since.

Carpenter’s theme for the first Halloween (which you can listen to below) has been a fixture of the series throughout its history and is regarded as one of the greatest pieces of music ever composed for a horror film. He also composed the scores for Halloween II and the Myers-free cult classic Halloween III: Season of the Witch, though he directed neither sequel.

This will be Carpenter’s first film score since his 2001 sci-fi action flick Ghosts of Mars, but the famed filmmaker has directed and scored several shorts in the years since his last feature, The Ward. In recent years, he has released two albums of original music, a remix album, and an album of re-recordings of his most popular film themes, and he has toured the world extensively performing sold-out concerts in support of them.

Halloween will be released in theaters on October 19, 2018.

[Source: @RyanTheSwifty via EW]