With the first trailer for the new Scream movie finally released, fans are excitedly dissecting every clip they can. A large part of the appeal with every new Scream film in the franchise is the mystery that comes with the killer. Every movie has had a different killer or pair of killers, and audiences are often left to figure out the mystery for themselves. As such, many fans have already been attempting to solve the mysteries of the new film by studying the trailer. But as it turns out, the directors of the new Scream have revealed the trailer is intentionally misleading.
Indeed, while some fans might have believed they already had the new movie figured out, it appears that’s not the case. The directors intentionally made the movie in such a way as to maintain its many mysteries. It appears that they’re now using these methods within the film’s marketing as well. This way the new film can’t be spoiled by any fans that are simply over-analyzing the marketing materials. So if you thought you figured out who the new killer is, you’re probably wrong. As revealed by the directors in an interview with Bloody-Disgusting:
“This was a hard trailer for [marketing] to put together, and I think one of the things we’re happy with is that anything that you might think is a spoiler in this, there’s a good chance you’re wrong. There are misdirects within the movie. There are misdirects within the trailer. For us, that’s just the fun of the whole thing to make this a big whodunnit. Spoilers suck, but the fun as fans is to talk about who might be the killer. Then to go through it forensically to try and find out and see if you can win the game, basically.”
Furthermore, they added the following:
“Part of what we love about the Scream movies, and what we love about the Scream fandom is just how deep people watch these movies. We think some of the fun of this experience is this forensic watching of things and trying to figure out who the killer is. It’s all a part of what’s so unique and so special about this franchise to us. As deep, deep fans of the original four, we took pains to populate the world of this movie, and certainly the materials with as many fun nods and Easter eggs and misdirects as possible.”
They further explained that this somewhat misleading first trailer for Scream is merely “the tip of a very, very large iceberg.”
“This is the tip of a very, very large iceberg. A very, very deceptive iceberg. The marketing campaign is just kicking off, and we’re very excited for all the materials that will flow out over the next three months leading up to release. This is just the first taste. It shows you the heart of the movie without showing you too much of what happens. That’s exactly what we’re going for; we want people to lean in, but we don’t want the movie to be ruined. We want them to enjoy every minute of it and discover what’s going on and who’s who in the theater.”
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directed Scream, taking over for the late Wes Craven who directed the original four 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.