Horror sequels and long-delayed continuations of popular franchises are two of the most difficult types of film to get right, so it was a bold call for Ready or Not duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett to attempt both with Scream, the fifth installment in Wes Craven’s slasher franchise.
Craven may have passed away in 2015, but his fingerprints are going to be all over the project based on what we’ve been hearing from the various cast and crew members involved. Gillett explained why Scream is a sequel and not a reboot, while Courtney Cox claimed that it was neither, so there’s clearly a lot of tonal juggling going on if two of the major players can’t even seem to agree on what it is.
The first trailer is rumored to be arriving imminently ahead of Scream‘s January 2022 release, with new addition to the ensemble Melissa Barrera teasing that she’s seen the final cut of the movie, and we’re not going to be ready for it.
Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell provide the legacy connection to the original series, with a fresh-faced batch of newcomers set to find themselves in Ghostface’s cross hairs. Scream is virtually guaranteed to hit big at the box office given the combination of brand recognition, nostalgia and the undying popularity of horror among audiences, and now that Barrera has issued a warning, we’ve got three months to prepare.
