It looks like the Scream franchise is being revamped in an interesting new way. Although the upcoming fifth film in the franchise will follow the events of the original four Scream movies, it appears it’ll stand on its own as well. In fact, actress Courteney Cox – who will reprise her role of Gale Weathers for the film – insists that it’s “a new franchise.” It seems those hoping for a more direct Scream 5 will be surprised to see it’s more of a new story instead.
Actress Courteney Cox revealed as much via The Drew Barrymore Show, where she stated the following:
“This is the fifth one… it’s not Scream 5, though. This is Scream. The directors are incredible, they’re making it absolutely…it’s a new franchise… It’s hip. It’s scary. It’s just a new Scream. It’s not a reboot, it’s not a remake, it’s just a brand-new launch. I think it’s gonna be fantastic.”
While it may seem like a strange move at first, it does make sense. This will not only allow the new film to maintain its continuity with past entries, but it will also be able to keep the franchise moving forward in a way that seemed unlikely since the release of Scream 4. It also seems to indicate that the film will be following the approach of the 2018 Halloween film, which would allow this new Scream to take a brand new meta-approach on the state of today’s horror genre. They’ll be able to discuss how modern direct sequels are outright bypassing entire storylines, so it’ll be interesting to see how such subject matter is handled in the new movie.
Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directed Scream, taking over for the late Wes Craven who directed the original four Scream films. James Vanderbilt wrote the script with Guy Busick. Original Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson is executive producing alongside Chad Villella. Project X Entertainment’s James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein and William Sherak are serving as producers on the film.
The cast for Scream includes returning cast members David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Marley Shelton, and Roger L. Jackson. The new cast members include Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Dylan Minnette, Mikey Madison, Sonia Ben Ammar and Kyle Gallner.
Scream is currently scheduled to hit theaters on January 14, 2022.