Scream (or Scream 5) was the franchise revamp Paramount and Spyglass were looking for and is doing gangbusters at the international box-office and garnering critical praise. Inevitably, a sequel was going to be announced given how the audience responded to the fifth entry with such enthusiasm.
The fifth Scream movie was made for a modest 24 million and has pulled 100 million globally. Not bad for a horror franchise with five movies and a television show. And with that milestone, comes the announcement of a sixth film in the franchise which should get Ghostface fans excited to carve into more murderous mayhem.
Who is back for Scream 6 and who is not? Here are the details of the announcement.
Scream 6 announcement
The Hollywood Reporter says that Scream 6 is being fast-tracked by Paramount and Spyglass. The production is moving so fast, that THR says the sequel to the prequel will begin shooting this summer.
Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are also tapped to return with their production team Radio Silence partnering. On top of this, screenwriting duo James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick are back to pen the screenplay.
The announcement came with a series of statements from the creative team and the studio. Paramount and Spyglass both shared a joint comment of readiness saying:
“We are tremendously grateful to the fans around the world who enthusiastically received our film. We can’t wait for audiences to see what Radio Silence, writers Jamie & Guy and Project X have in store for our Woodsboro family.”
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s production company Radio Silence chimed in their eagerness to get back to Woodsboro stating:
“Working with such a wonderful and talented family of creators — and in the lineage Wes and Kevin so expertly built — has been the thrill of a lifetime, and we’re so excited to bring the next chapter in the Scream saga to life.”
Last but not least is screenwriters Vanderbilt and Busick who offered the most excited response of them all about being offered a chance to do a sixth film. These writers clearly love this franchise and had this to say:
“Is this real life? Getting to collaborate once again with our friends on the next installment of the Scream story is more than we could have hoped for. We are overwhelmed that we get to continue to play in the sandbox that Kevin and Wes created. It is, as Ghostface would say, an honor.”
The passion for this franchise radiates from these quotes and would surely come as a relief to the late Wes Craven himself. But what about casting and other news?
More details about Scream 6
As of right now, details on casting are not reported. Obviously, those who survived the fifth movie will likely make the cut. That said, there is a massive question mark on whether the remaining legacy characters such as Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) are planning to return.
One might hope Sidney can just move on from constantly being tormented, now that she is a mother. But as we saw in the fifth movie, anything is possible going forward, especially, in terms of who lives and who dies in a sequel.
It will also be intriguing to see how the writers keep conjuring killers that desire to become Ghostface. But since the original film was loosely inspired by true events, maybe the creatives can pull from other stories of truth on the sixth film.
But here is the detail that is worth noting. Production is moving swiftly which probably means this creative team had a sixth story planned already. And if that is the case, consider this writer excited.
Stay tuned for more updates about Scream 6 at Monsters & Critics.
Scream 6 currently does not have a release date.