Is ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ Getting a Sequel? And Should It?

As Halloween approaches once again it is time for us to travel back to the frightening world of Halloween Town ruled by the fearsome Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington. The Nightmare Before Christmas might be over 20 years old, but it still remains prevalent in pop culture. For many the movie is an integral part of Halloween and decorations based on its iconography can be found in almost every single Halloween store. It’s also practically become a cliche for goth kids to worship, as noted by the year round inclusion of Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise in every Hot Topic.

For years, people have been expecting a sequel to the stop-motion Halloween and/or Christmas classic, but nothing official has ever been confirmed. Recently, however, Moviehole reported that Disney was seriously considering “doing something” with The Nightmare Before Christmas. While nothing has been officially confirmed, it sounds like Disney might actually be planning to do something with the brand, either as sequel or a live action remake.

Even Chris Sarandon, who provided the speaking voice for Jack Skellington, is excited by the recent news. The actor recently told Comicbook.com he wants to voice Jack again so badly that, “I’d crawl on my hands and knees, from the east coast to the west coast, in the spring or the fall, to do it again.”

However not everyone is as excited about the sequel as Sarandon is. Many fans are worried that, since the original movie is so beloved, a sequel or a remake would never be able to live up to its legacy.

The original The Nightmare Before Christmas was directed not by Tim Burton, contrary to popular belief, but by animator Henry Selick. Burton was actually busy directing Batman Returns, but served as a producer on the movie. Nightmare‘s voice cast includes Catherine O’Hara, Ken Page, Paul Reubens, Chris Sarandon, and Danny Elfman, who provided the singing voice for Jack Skellington.

It is far too early to tell if a sequel or remake of The Nightmare Before Christmas is actually going to happen. Perhaps we should first determine whether it’s considered a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie.