This Baby Driver Scene Became Iconic Thanks to Halloween Copyright Issues

If you've seen Edgar Wright's Baby Driver, you probably remember the hilarious scene where a character mistakenly buys Mike Myers ' Austin Powers masks for a heist, instead of the intended Michael Myers masks from the Halloween movie. But did you know that this iconic gag wasn't originally planned that way?

Wright revealed on X that he had initially scripted the scene to feature two characters donning the creepy Michael Myers masks from Halloween and one character wearing an Austin Powers mask. It was meant to be a quirky contrast, but things didn't go as planned.

The Halloween copyright holders didn't allow the Michael Myers mask to be used in Baby Driver because they were working on a reboot and wanted to keep the mask exclusive to their franchise.

Instead of scrapping the joke entirely, Wright came up with a brilliant workaround. He decided to have all three characters wear Austin Powers masks, leading to the hilarious confusion in the film.

The scene ended up being super memorable, and the audience really dug the surprising twist.

Make-up artist Greg Nicotero, mostly known for his work on The Walking Dead franchise, had even crafted a Michael Myers mask specifically for Baby Driver. Sadly, it never made it to the big screen. But don't feel too bad for the mask; it now sits proudly in Nicotero's office.

Sometimes, restrictions can lead to even better outcomes. Edgar Wright's movie is a great example of just that.

For those curious about the origins of the Michael Myers mask, here's a fun tidbit: the mask that Michael Myers wears in John Carpenter's Halloween from 1978 wasn't originally designed for the film. In fact, it was an inside-out store-bought Star Trek ’s Captain Kirk mask, modeled after the face of actor William Shatner.

The film had a tight budget, so instead of creating a mask from scratch, the crew decided to modify an existing one. They took the mask, painted it white, widened the eye holes, and messed up the hair a bit. The result was a blank, emotionless face that became the signature look of Michael Myers.

Source: Edgar Wright on X