Scream Star Says The New Film’s A Fresh Take, But Honors Wes Craven

In 2022, Scream will be back with a vengeance. The classic horror franchise exploded onto the screen in 1996, with audiences loving horror master Wes Craven’s tension and the genre meta commentary. Two sequels soon followed, with a fourth coming in 2011 and a fifth installment Scream (we agree, the title is annoying) due next January.

The new entry is billed as both a follow-up and a relaunch, with franchise stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courtney Cox all returning. But one person who sadly isn’t involved is horror icon Wes Craven, who directed the first four outings and died in 2015.

Star Melissa Barrera has spoken to Variety about the project, explaining that Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett created a movie that honors Craven, but also takes Scream to new places, saying:

“Matt and Tyler bring their freshness to it, but we’re honoring Wes. I think it’ll make the fans happy, but also bring in a new audience to the movies, which I’m excited about.”

She went on to wax lyrical about how exciting it was to be a part of the franchise, too, stating:

“I couldn’t believe it; I was being a fan the entire time. Every time they yelled, ‘cut,’ I would say to the directors, ‘Take a picture of us! Now Courtney is a really close friend of mine. They’re all so incredible and I loved it. I’m so excited for January.”

Though seeing a new generation being menaced by Ghostface will be fun, I’m always excited to find out what the classic Scream characters are up to. Scream 4 showed Neve Campbell’s Sidney returning to Woodsboro and having to contend with a spree of Ghostface killings, so with that story told, I suspect she may have a smaller role than before.

But it’s interesting that Courtney Cox was specifically mentioned by Barrera, as perhaps the focus could shift to Gale Riley. The intrepid reporter survived all four prior Scream movies and has evolved from a glory hunter to a hardened survivor. On top of that, she has so much history with the various Ghostface murderers that it makes sense that someone under the mask would skulk back into her life for revenge.