‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ Sequel Book to Focus on Sally as Pumpkin Queen
An official sequel to the stop-motion Halloween classic The Nightmare Before Christmas is coming next year in the form of a new young adult (YA) novel focusing on Sally’s own adventure following the events of the iconic 1993 film, as she adapts to her new role as the Pumpkin Queen.
Marking Disney Publishing’s first visit to Halloween Town, the new YA novel, to be written by Shea Ernshaw (The Wicked Deep, Winterwood), will explore what happened after Sally and Jack Skellington’s climactic kiss atop Spiral Hill at the end of the movie, as first reported by Gizmodo.
The story features a happily married Sally and Jack, who see their lives momentarily turned upside down when Sally accidentally lets loose a mysterious villain in Halloween Town. With Jack and the entire holiday world itself in danger, Sally goes on her own quest to the other holiday worlds—including one previously unexplored—as the Pumpkin Queen, uncovering secrets about how to save the world and wrestling with new discoveries about her past life along the way.
“This new book, written from the point of view of Sally, takes place shortly after the movie ends. It’s the yet-to-be-told love story of Sally and Jack. But it’s also a coming-of-age story for Sally, as we see her navigate her new royal title as the Pumpkin Queen of Halloween Town,” Ernshaw explained in a Disney Q&A provided to io9. “[It] will hopefully give fans a long-awaited second dose of Sally, Jack, and all the familiar residents of Halloween Town, while introducing a new cast of grim, strange characters, that I hope readers will love.”
While the film memorably centers on Jack’s questions of his own identity, Ernshaw explains, “In this book, I really wanted to explore Sally’s identity, and better understand not only who she is now that she’s fallen in love with Jack and taken on the role of the Pumpkin Queen, but also understand how her past has affected her present desires, doubts, and dreams.”
If you’re keeping track, you may remember that there is already an official sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas in the form of a manga comic book, released in 2018 and centering on Zero’s Journey.
The as-yet-untitled Sally sequel novel will be released in July of 2022.
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