Scream 5 has now wrapped filming. After nine years in limbo, the meta-horror franchise went before cameras again this year for a new movie directed by Radio Silence duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, stepping into the big shoes of Wes Craven. Production began back in September and it’s now being reported that principal photography is complete, as of mid-November.
Despite the times we’re living in, Scream 5 appears to have had a pretty smooth production process. Some non-essential crew members did test positive for COVID-19 in the first week of filming, but things were able to press ahead without delay. They also did a great job of keeping the action under lock and key. We got some snaps of Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, but to date, shots of Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott and David Arquette as Dewey have yet to materialize.
Those trio of returning actors are joined by a talented cast of newcomers to the franchise including a mix of familiar names and rising stars. Namely, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Mason Gooding, Kyle Gallner, Jack Quaid, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mikey Madison and Marley Shelton, reprising her role as Deputy Judy Hicks from Scream 4. Guy Busick, who worked with the directing duo on Ready or Not, co-wrote the script with James Vanderbilt.
Original scribe Kevin Williamson is exec producing and, during a Scream virtual reunion that took place this past weekend, he praised what Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett had done and promised that it would make Craven proud. He also teased how they’ve found “a fresh approach” to the franchise that he thinks has made it come alive again. We don’t know what that is right now, as plot details are thin on the ground at present, but it’s definitely encouraging to hear.
Unfortunately, though filming is complete, we’ll have a while to wait until we get any kind of trailer or first look at the project, as Scream 5 isn’t set to be released by Paramount Pictures until January 2022. But at least we’re one step closer to seeing Ghostface back on the big screen.
