Scream 6 is officially a go, with many familiar faces returning to the franchise and some new ones. Here’s everything that’s known about Scream 6.
The popular Scream franchise has returned with the highly anticipated Scream 2022, more than 25 years after the initial release of Scream (1996), and here’s everything we know about its sequel, Scream 6, which was announced less than a month after Scream 2022 hit theaters. One final installment featuring a knife-wielding masked serial killer and an accomplice terrorizing the sleepy, fictional town of Woodsboro, California will bring the hit meta franchise to a close with a pair of trilogies true to the vision of the late revolutionary filmmaker Wes Craven (Nightmare on Elm Street).
The original Scream, directed by Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, revitalized the slasher-horror genre. Distributed by Dimension Films and starring David Arquette, Courteney Cox, and Neve Campbell as Scream’s heroine Sidney Prescott, the tongue-in-cheek slasher film proved a financial success, grossing $173 million worldwide. It also sparked a franchise that currently stands at five movies, with each film featuring a killer known as Ghostface who torments over-aged teenagers using horror films as a deadly game, unnervingly quizzing his extremely self-aware targets about their favorite scary movies.
Now that Scream 6 has been given the go-ahead, there will undoubtedly be more mayhem, old-fashioned jump scares, and bloodshed in Woodsboro’s future. Although quirky former Woodsboro sheriff Dewey Riley (Arquette) gets killed off in Scream 2022, Sidney Prescott (Campbell) and enterprising writer/reporter Gale Weathers (Cox) survive and even act as mentors in helping solve the latest round of grotesque serial murders. Perhaps it is unthinkable for diehard viewers to imagine a Scream 6 without Sidney and Gale, two of the three original main characters, but unfortunately, some of the old favorites from the original movies won’t be returning for the next installment.
Scream 6 Cast Updates
It looks like much of the cast of Scream 2022 will be returning for the next addition to the Scream franchise. Both Melissa Barrera (Sam) and Jenna Ortega (Tara) will be reprising their roles in the sequel. Scream 4 favorite Hayden Panettiere will also be coming back as the hardened Ghostface survivor Kirby Reed. Jasmin Savoy-Brown (Yellowjackets) is in Scream 6 bringing back the horror aficionado Mindy Meeks-Martin alongside Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin. Finally, Scream veteran Courtney Cox will be reprising her prolific role as reporter Gale Weathers.
Unfortunately, Neve Campbell has decided to leave the Scream franchise for good. Despite being originally written into the script, she won’t be back for Scream 6. However, some exciting new cast members have joined the roster. Ready or Not‘s Samara Weaving has been cast in an undisclosed role for Scream 6, reuniting her with The Babysitter co-star Jenny Ortega. Another Ready or Not star coming to the franchise as a potential victim (or killer) is Henry Czerny. In addition, Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s Tony Revolori will also be seen in Scream 6. Finally, though it may not happen, Scream 4 star Emma Roberts has expressed interest in returning to the franchise.
Scream 2022 saw Melissa Barrera (In the Heights) star as Sam Carpenter and Jenna Ortega (The Babysitter: Killer Queen) play Tara, Sam’s younger sister who survives an attack. Judging by the story arc in the movie, there is ample room to explore new storylines and expand character development. Sam is, after all, both a villain and a hero as the daughter of Scream‘s Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), one of the two killers in the original film along with Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard). Sam is a logical target for the next Ghostface in much the same fashion that Sidney was a target.
Craven had a clear vision for the Scream franchise. He relayed after Scream 4 that stories were in the works for Scream 5 and Scream 6 (with Neve Campbell‘s story beats now removed) that would ultimately conclude the series as a pair of trilogies. Craven passed away at the age of 76 in 2015, but Williams remains attached to the franchise and is an executive producer of Scream 2022. With Williams making sure the franchise is in good hands, new directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, working from a script written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, delivered a suitably funny and irreverent teen slasher film that is less campy than its predecessors.
Scream 6 Release Date
Scream 6 will release on March 31, 2023. Scream 2022‘s generally positive reviews and reception indicate that a palpable demand still exists for the franchise, which is why Scream 6 was given the green light. The new movie began production in the summer of 2022, making this the shortest wait time between installments since Scream and Scream 2. The Scream 6 cast of returning characters and new faces are poised to carry on the franchise, and even though some legacy figures will be sitting out the final Scream movie, Woodsboro’s body count is destined to grow. The announcement of Scream 6 has been welcome news to the iconic franchise’s devotees and their seemingly insatiable appetite for violent whodunnit mysteries involving a close-knit group of friends and their questionable love interests.
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