Netflix has confirmed its much-anticipated teen horror film, Fear Street: Prom Queen, will be with us in 2025, but the next installment of the movie series can’t come soon enough for us horror hounds.
The streaming service unveiled the news on Oct. 28, with a spooky poster inviting us back to Shadyside for its 1988 high school senior prom. “In 2025, experience a new nightmare from the world of Fear Street,” the image reads.
2025, presumably around October, isn’t all that far away, but some fans thought it might arrive sooner. A few comments also read along the lines of, “Should have came out for Halloween.” That shouldn’t have been a big ask, honestly, considering Prom Queen went into production in April 2023.
We’ve gotten lucky with a few details here: firstly, a release year, secondly, the final word that the film will be set during prom, and when the story is set. The latter is important, given how the Fear Street movies have jumped through time.
Initially, Fear Street was intended to be a trilogy, but the innovative marketing and concept of three connected movies released in short succession on a streaming platform made it a hit. It also featured high-quality lesbian representation that resonated with lots of users, which is not a common feat in horror movies.
So, we’re getting more of them. It’s unknown whether Prom Queen will be the beginning of a new trilogy or stand alone in the universe, but the first three were good enough that we’re willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, despite how unnecessary it may look on paper.
Another blank slate is whether any of the original cast will return. Part One took place in 1994, so the characters from the original story can’t be the seniors in Prom Queen because they were in high school in the early 90s, not 1988.
Star Kiana Madeira, who played Deena, said she’d be down to dive back into the role in 2023, but we think it’s more likely to be cameo appearances for her and the old crew rather than leading roles. And that would make lots of sense — legacy characters showing up in new-generation sequels is a popular trend in horror filmmaking these days (2022’s Scream and 2018’s Halloween, to name a couple).
That would also be a nice nod to the audience that propelled the trilogy to the heights it reached. Inviting back one or two faces we already know could be vital connective tissue to keep this train steaming ahead.
What we know about Prom Queen
All the Fear Street films are based on R.L. Stine’s novels, but this is the first to be adapted from a specific book, The Prom Queen. The movie’s cast includes India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, David Iacono, Ella Rubin, Chris Klein, Lili Taylor, Katherine Waterston, and Barbie breakout Ariana Greenblatt.
Netflix also expanded on the plot, “Prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”
