What is the shortest gap between ‘Scream’ movies, and will ‘Scream 6’ break the record?

Scream has had more than a few movies since the premiere of the first film in 1996. The latest release in the franchise was in 2022 with Scream, the fifth entry in the series. Over that time there have been multiple killers and many more deaths, but there is something to say about how current the series needs to be because of how it reflects the time period in which the films are set and released. 

For example, the original Scream, poked fun at the slasher movies that came before it. The newest film poked fun at elevated horror fans and how seriously they treat film culture. With all that being said, it was recently announced that Scream 6 has moved up from its original release date of March 31, 2023. Could this move make it the closest releases between movies? Let’s take a look at all the release dates of the Scream movies.

What is the shortest gap between Scream films?

The time between the Scream movies range from up to 11 years all the way down to a single year. From the longest period of time to the shortest period of time, the gaps between Scream movies are as follows:

1. Between Scream 3 and Scream 4 from Feb. 4, 2000, to April 15, 2011; 11 years and two months.
2. Between Scream 4 and Scream (2022) from April 15, 2011, to Jan. 14, 2022; 10 years and nine months.
3. Between Scream 2 and Scream 3 from Dec. 12, 1997, to Feb. 4, 2000; two years and two months.
4. Between Scream 6 and Scream (2022) from Jan. 14, 2022, to March 10, 2023; one year and two months.
5. Between Scream and Scream 2 from Dec. 20, 1996, to Dec. 12, 1997; one year.

The time between the first two entries in the Scream franchise had the shortest gap, edging out the break between the latest film and the upcoming film by only two months.

What could Scream 6 be about?

If you cast your mind to Scream and Scream 2, the sequel followed Sidney after she had graduated from high school, following her into college. As the newcomers into the franchise were going to school and with most of them surviving, we can more than gather that we will be following them into college as well in the next movie.

In fact, we do know that the sixth film will be taking place in New York City. This might be because one or two of them decide to go to a film school in New York, as they did have an interest in movies in ’22’s Scream. Even if the quick turnaround does not mean much for the plot, the actors will have barely aged between films. It is very likely that the characters will only be a couple of years older if the film does not take place right after the last. 

If the sequels do end up repeating themselves, we could also see a Scream 7 by 2025, and maybe that will be the film to have the shortest gap. Although whether or not we see a Scream 5 will probably be dependent on the financial and critical success of Scream 6. As Neve Campbell has stated that she will not be appearing in the new film because she feels that she was not offered her worth, Scream 6 will be missing its lead legacy character, Sidney Prescott. 

As of writing, it is unknown what effect Campbell’s absence will have on the success of the film. Aside from her, we only have Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers left since David Arquette’s Dewey Riley died in the last movie. Every film in the franchise has had these legacy characters in the film, with Scream 6 being the first not to have all three appear. This will most likely be the proof the franchise needs to see whether or not the staying power of the franchise is Ghostface, the self-referential nature of the story, or if it’s Sidney Prescott keeping the fans coming back for more.

Scream 6 releases in theaters on March 10, 2023.