Scream‘s Ghostface is among the most iconic images in modern horror cinema. The design originated with an early ’90s ‘Fun World’ Halloween mask, which producer Marianne Maddalena came across inside a house during location shooting for the first movie. She brought it to the attention of director Wes Craven: it was love at first sight, and a slasher star was born.
In 2022, after more than a decade away, Scream will be back with a vengeance. The upcoming entry is billed as both a follow-up and a relaunch and franchise stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox are returning, along with newcomers Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sonia Ammar, Jack Quaid, and Melissa Barrera.
EW.com has just published a first look feature showing off the cast.
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett explained why they couldn’t make a Scream movie without the classic characters. Gillett said:
“It was a wildly anxiety-producing situation. They were not disposable roles; they were very, very important and the heartbeat of what was great about the script. We couldn’t imagine the movie without any of them and so not having that perfectly locked-in right off the bat was definitely scary.”
Bettini-Olpin talked about the weight of expectations that come with tackling such an iconic franchise:
“Showing up on set, seeing Neve and David and Courtney for the first time, seeing Ghostface for the first time, it was surreal. It felt like we were having this weird, out-of-body fan experience, but we were also doing our adult job at the same time.”
This will be the first Scream movie made without the involvement of horror legend Wes Craven, who died aged 76 in 2015. The returning stars spoke about how they feel this new entry honors his memory. Cox said:
“From the second I walked on the set, I felt extremely emotional and felt a real missing and longing for him. He had such [a] special, kind, and caring quality about him, not to mention his incredible talent as a filmmaker. I looked up to Wes immensely professionally but also as a friend. I feel Wes would be so happy with the way Matt and Tyler have rebooted this franchise.”
While Arquette said going back reminded him of Craven’s film-making talent:
“I’m not overly religious or anything, but I definitely was speaking to him, praying about it. It brought back a ton of memories of Wes, and that was emotional, you know, but it was beautiful. There were little signs. There were certain takes where the wind would blow, and, I don’t know, I just felt his energy.”
One important factor present throughout the franchise is the mystery of who’s under the mask. The directors say the reveal will be a surprise to both audiences and cast, explaining that they withheld certain script pages in order to avoid any leaks or inadvertent spoilers in interviews (my money’s on The Boys star Jack Quaid).
It’ll also be interesting to see which characters are focused on. Scream 4 delved deeply into the long-term effects of the franchise on Neve Campbell’s Sidney, so my thinking is that we may see more of Courtney Cox’s Gale Riley this time around.
Scream will hit theaters on January 14th, 2022, and if we’re seeing articles like this now, a trailer shouldn’t be far behind. Watch this space.
