One of Disney’s most popular films is The Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop-motion animated masterpiece that’s remained a seasonal highlight for at least two holidays every year. While an official sequel for the film has never quite materialized, unless you count one particular video game from 2005, it’s been revealed that Disney has a new book that will follow the events of the original Nightmare Before Christmas film. This new book, which will act as a direct sequel to the original 1993 movie, follows Sally shortly after the events of the film. She’s now married to Jack Skellington and apparently even releases a Halloween Town villain by accident.
Here’s the plot as revealed via Gizmodo:
“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. [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.”
Interestingly, author Shea Ernshaw explained that she wanted the book to give Sally the focus that the film gave to Jack. Here’s what she stated:
“One of the core themes in The Nightmare Before Christmas was Jack’s struggle to understand his identity. He had grown tired of being the Pumpkin King, and in his longing for something more, he plotted to take over Christmas. 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. What does a ragdoll truly want out of life? What is she afraid of? And how much is she willing to risk to save those she loves? As we will learn in the book, she’s willing to risk quite a lot. Sally is one of the most compelling, and also richly-layered characters I’ve ever written, and it’s an honor to get to tell her story.”
The book, which currently does not have a title, is scheduled for a release in July 2022. It should definitely be exciting to see a new The Nightmare Before Christmas sequel from Sally’s point-of-view, especially if she gets as much focus and emphasis as Jack did in the original film. And who knows? Maybe this could test the possibility for an actual film sequel. After all, it wasn’t long after a Hocus Pocus sequel book was released that an official film was confirmed for development.