Halloween Horror Nights 35 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors

[Blysthon]

I am really surprised we haven't seen an evolution of The Usher yet. Also, seeing a grown Cindy taking over for The Caretaker. Those two seem like obvious directions to go.

Yes, and soon we might get movies in the future as the event goes on time to time. People really seem hyped for the icons.

 

[Brian G.]

Why are folks so eager for more Pord instead of the return of, say, Usher or Caretaker? Or how about a NEW icon? Seems odd to me.

Folk*

As in one.

 

[EmperorSephirothII]

Why are folks so eager for more Pord instead of the return of, say, Usher or Caretaker? Or how about a NEW icon? Seems odd to me.

Wait what? Someone mentioned the Caretaker? Just say his name and I appear for some reason. In all seriousness though, from the way Horror Nights has been going for the last decade or so it feels like the only new/newly elevated icons we are ever going to get are ones related to Jack, (Chance and Oddfellow for example,) we probably won't get many new or returning ones. Aside from an appearance in an Icons Captured type house. Which pains me. So, despite the whole, "We love and appreciate all our icon characters." Or whatever it was that was said at the MegaCon panel. It's pretty clear that Creative have their favorite bit of lore that they choose to expand on ad infinitum. Though in their defense, what else were they going to say? "Nah, we only want to use Jack and his associates over and over again"? Not likely. xD

 

[Casper Gutman]

So Epic Games just fired 1000 people with the stated reason being a “downturn in ‘Fortnite’ engagement.” I’m not sure whether that makes the rumored HHN involvement more or less timely.

 

[Legacy]

So Epic Games just fired 1000 people with the stated reason being a “downturn in ‘Fortnite’ engagement.” I’m not sure whether that makes the rumored HHN involvement more or less timely.

I mean… if the contracts were already signed it doesn’t make a difference.

 

[JohnHammondsCane]

First time dipping the toe in the spec thread, but my god, if Fortnite comes to HHN, look out.

The amount of teens/pre-teens at the event doing dances for TikToks will be insane. Lot of interesting options for food/drinks. I just don't know how a SZ works, outside of it being one like the Fanta/DJ one last year. One to hangout in but no real scares

 

[RedRightDan]

First time dipping the toe in the spec thread, but my god, if Fortnite comes to HHN, look out.

The amount of teens/pre-teens at the event doing dances for TikToks will be insane. Lot of interesting options for food/drinks. I just don't know how a SZ works, outside of it being one like the Fanta/DJ one last year. One to hangout in but no real scares

The SanFran Club Horror featuring Fortnite was what I immediately thought when I heard that rumor.

Unfortunately, that's not the area that I've heard mentioned for FN.

 

[Brian G.]

So Epic Games just fired 1000 people with the stated reason being a “downturn in ‘Fortnite’ engagement.” I’m not sure whether that makes the rumored HHN involvement more or less timely.

It's still the biggest game around. It's always ebbed and flowed, and right now, the closures have to do with biting off more than they can chew. I'm not gonna bore you with the history of Fortnite, but it's not a surprise to see these game modes go.

First time dipping the toe in the spec thread, but my god, if Fortnite comes to HHN, look out.

The amount of teens/pre-teens at the event doing dances for TikToks will be insane. Lot of interesting options for food/drinks. I just don't know how a SZ works, outside of it being one like the Fanta/DJ one last year. One to hangout in but no real scares

I guess we should remember that the rumor specifically refers to "Fortnitemares," not Fortnite.

 

[Boodini]

It's pretty clear that Creative have their favorite bit of lore that they choose to expand on ad infinitum.

I don’t know how true it was but I think we were supposed to have Caretaker as the icon of 2017 but it fell through because of synergy with Hollywood or some conflicts with marketing I think? Nowadays it feels like Orlando has a looser grip on them for making original concepts while still meeting a basis with the other park so maybe there’s a possibility of such things again (if they want to of course).
On the other hand I totally get the show directors for wanting to move on to new things, especially since they probably didn’t have anything to do with the OG icons initially. Jack’s the “anniversary guy” now and any times we do see those older characters will probably be for those times exclusively like you mentioned.

 

[Casper Gutman]

The SanFran Club Horror featuring Fortnite was what I immediately thought when I heard that rumor.

Unfortunately, that's not the area that I've heard mentioned for FN.

Honestly, I understand the reasons behind bringing the property to the park, but I’d rather they have a house or even a show replacing Fuel. A street is so hard to bypass, there are so few of them, and when they’re great like last year they really elevate the event. Worse, it sounds like you’re suggesting FN might get New York or Hollywood which… ehhhh…

 

[JohnHammondsCane]

It's still the biggest game around. It's always ebbed and flowed, and right now, the closures have to do with biting off more than they can chew. I'm not gonna bore you with the history of Fortnite, but it's not a surprise to see these game modes go.



I guess we should remember that the rumor specifically refers to "Fortnitemares," not Fortnite.

Thanks for the flag, I shouldn't use them interchangeably! It really depends how they do FOrtnitemares. If they stick with skins/items that are original from Epic vs. what they did last year which was IP galore (Art, Scooby, Scream, Jason, Black Phone, Friday, KPop Demon Hunters (could you imagine this at HHN lol)). In previous years, they've done Jigsaw, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Michael Myers, Edward Scissorhands)

 

[Legacy]

I don’t know how true it was but I think we were supposed to have Caretaker as the icon of 2017 but it fell through because of synergy with Hollywood or some conflicts with marketing I think? Nowadays it feels like Orlando has a looser grip on them for making original concepts while still meeting a basis with the other park so maybe there’s a possibility of such things again (if they want to of course).
On the other hand I totally get the show directors for wanting to move on to new things, especially since they probably didn’t have anything to do with the OG icons initially. Jack’s the “anniversary guy” now and any times we do see those older characters will probably be for those times exclusively like you mentioned.

The core of the team actually WAS around for Jack and the other icons. Lora, I believe started choreographing Bill and Ted in the early 2000s. Mike was writing/show directing in the early 2000s. While their focus was on Bill and Ted, they did work closely with J. Michael Roddy—who ostensibly created the icons. Charles, I’m not sure the specifics of his trajectory, but he was there.

That’s what actually makes the lack of focus on the icons more telling. They were a part of their development. They saw the fandom build around them. And while the dynamics of HHN’s development has changed (pretty drastically), there still has not been a massive push for new icons to the scale if the aughts or a return to the classics.

 

[Brian G.]

The core of the team actually WAS around for Jack and the other icons. Lora, I believe started choreographing Bill and Ted in the early 2000s. Mike was writing/show directing in the early 2000s. While their focus was on Bill and Ted, they did work closely with J. Michael Roddy—who ostensibly created the icons. Charles, I’m not sure the specifics of his trajectory, but he was there.

That’s what actually makes the lack of focus on the icons more telling. They were a part of their development. They saw the fandom build around them. And while the dynamics of HHN’s development has changed (pretty drastically), there still has not been a massive push for new icons to the scale if the aughts or a return to the classics.

Part of it is that they don’t have the same freedom they did in the 2000s, too. This is a much bigger machine now, with way more folks, especially suits, involved, and that means a lot more red tape to get anything done.

AFAIK, for a while, there was some skepticism on whether icons were marketable. They've obviously lessened that stance now, but back in 2017, there were a lot more questions about it.

 

[RGMick77]

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It’s pretty apparent that the only reason we got Lumpkin Pord as a “icon” (ambiguous definition) is because of the popularity of Lil’ Boo. Universal didn’t (doesn’t) have a plan to really expand the character beyond the one house. That’s why his presence in the park was so half-assed. He is Lil’ Boo’s sidekick.

Yeah, Lumpkin Pord was a one trick pony. That’s why I suggested that, if they did have a reason to bring him back, they should do something completely new with him. The whole tie-in to traditional Halloween iconography is why I didn’t mind seeing him the second time. And, of course, his association to Lil’ Boo.

Jack works the best because he is a scary clown and the general public immediately understands what they are seeing.

I do feel that a character like The Caretaker is also easy for the public to understand. I would like for them to use him again, even if they don’t market the event around him.

 

[Tobias]

I feel the event has a nice win-win with this Infernal Carnival of Nightmares theme with both Jack and Oddfellow. Since you not only have Jack, but Dr. Oddfellow who's honestly the best new Icon they've had in a while. It's probably a boon to marketing etc. that Oddfellow is directly tied to Jack, so it's an easy-peasy way to bring both Icons of Old and New together.

When it comes to the other Icons, I would love to see the Caretaker return in some fashion in the future. His concept and motivations are very easy to understand, and he's just wonderfully unsettling. It also doesn't hurt Screamhouse has been a solid set of houses. If they roll with another gothic/haunting kind of feel, he's perfect for that.

As for the others, they'd be nice to see in a main anniversary year, but I'm not necessarily clamoring for them. One of the best examples of that is Fear, where I couldn't help but notice he wasn't in the slideshow of Icons at Megacon. They showed Lady Luck who came after him, but not him and I feel that's pretty telling.

No, they're not saving him up for later, he's just been immensely half-baked. After all, he never was the intended Icon for XX, that was Cindy of course. And his gimmick of being this master of fear, behind all the monsters and so forth...has been retconned and taken over by Dr. Oddfellow who is actually fleshed out and just a better Icon, period.

 

[garpeel]

I feel the event has a nice win-win with this Infernal Carnival of Nightmares theme with both Jack and Oddfellow. Since you not only have Jack, but Dr. Oddfellow who's honestly the best new Icon they've had in a while. It's probably a boon to marketing etc. that Oddfellow is directly tied to Jack, so it's an easy-peasy way to bring both Icons of Old and New together.

When it comes to the other Icons, I would love to see the Caretaker return in some fashion in the future. His concept and motivations are very easy to understand, and he's just wonderfully unsettling. It also doesn't hurt Screamhouse has been a solid set of houses. If they roll with another gothic/haunting kind of feel, he's perfect for that.

As for the others, they'd be nice to see in a main anniversary year, but I'm not necessarily clamoring for them. One of the best examples of that is Fear, where I couldn't help but notice he wasn't in the slideshow of Icons at Megacon. They showed Lady Luck who came after him, but not him and I feel that's pretty telling.

No, they're not saving him up for later, he's just been immensely half-baked. After all, he never was the intended Icon for XX, that was Cindy of course. And his gimmick of being this master of fear, behind all the monsters and so forth...has been retconned and taken over by Dr. Oddfellow who is actually fleshed out and just a better Icon, period.

I just realized we've had Jack return as a main icon 5 times in the past TWENTY-ish years. It's crazy they haven't had the other icons return in any major capacity outside of anniversary years. Hopefully they'll have another dual-icon setup in the future, like with the Director/ Usher or the Caretaker/Cindy. Maybe we'll finally get Cindy on her own after nearly 20 years of her year (2010) being canceled.