If there’s one death in the Scream franchise that’s traditionally the most controversial amongst fans above all others, it has to be the demise of Randy Meeks in Scream 2. Woodsboro’s biggest horror movie fan knew enough about the genre to make it out of the first one alive, but he failed to survive the sequel. Jamie Kennedy got to reprise his role in Scream 3 — via a video clip Randy recorded before his death — but since then he’s not been seen.
But with Ghostface returning to cinemas this January for a fifth movie, simply titled Scream, all bets are off and, who knows, maybe there’s a chance Randy could be resurrected. While speaking with ComicBook.com to promote 1996’s Scream getting a 25th anniversary 4K release, Kennedy was asked about the chances of returning as his character. But, sorry, fans, it’s bad news as the actor thinks it’s best if Randy stays dead.
“If I was in the mythology, I think my mythology is strong because I’m not in it, you know what I mean? So if I came back, it could bastardize it. But if there was a plausible way that wouldn’t piss off the audience, it might be interesting to entertain,” Kennedy confirmed. “But, as of right now, I believe I’m deader than dead, and I think that’s what makes it good is the fact that you are dead and that’s why it’s strong because you died. You were one of the good ones and maybe you shouldn’t have went, but that’s what life is. It’s pain. Sometimes things happen, you can’t explain. And that’s why it resonates so much with people because of that.”
In the run-up to Scream 5, there’s been a lot of speculation about characters who were thought dead maybe turning up alive in the new film. Another controversial death is Kirby in Scream 4, so fans are hoping maybe Hayden Panetierre will pop up in a surprise cameo. Most of all, though, Matthew Lillard has been stoking the flames of a conspiracy theory that Stu Macher, one of the original killers, actually survived the first film and could come back to make Sidney Prescott’s life a misery yet again.
But obviously, if there is any truth to these rumors and fan theories, these secrets are going to be kept under lock and key until the reboot gets here in a few months’ time. From Radio Silence directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, who are taking the reins from the late, great Wes Craven, and starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and many new faces, Scream slashes into theaters on January 14, 2022.
