Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures confirmed production on the fifth Scream film has officially wrapped after three months. The announcement was made through a message by Scream creator Kevin Williamson in which he shared new behind-the-scenes photos and revealed the next installment will share the name of the first entry in the franchise.
Production on the fifth film, officially titled Scream, began in Wilmington, North Carolina in September 2020 with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett at the helm. The slasher film will reunite Neve Campbell with returning co-stars David Arquette and Courteney Cox, all three of whom led the cast of the four previous chapters, alongside a cast of newcomers that includes Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, and Jack Quaid.
The fifth Scream film will be the first of the series that will not be directed by horror icon Wes Craven, who passed away at age 76 in 2015. In a message to fans across his social media accounts, Williamson, who penned the screenplays for all but one of the previous Scream films directed by Craven, noted that he could not have imagined the lasting impact of the franchise that he brought to life with the late filmmaker. "I'm excited for you to return to Woodsboro and get really scared again. I believe Wes would've been so proud of the film that Matt and Tyler are making," wrote Williamson. "I'm thrilled to be reunited with Neve, Courteney, David, and Marley, and to be working alongside a new filmmaking team and an incredible cast of newcomers that have come together to continue Wes's legacy with the upcoming relaunch of the franchise that I hold so dear to my heart. See you in theatres January 2022." Williamson also included a set photo featuring Campbell and Cox as well as a second image in which Ghostface is shown standing behind the screenwriter.
Williamson is on board the fifth Scream film as an executive producer, serving alongside Chad Villella of Radio Silence Productions. Screenwriting duties have been filled by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick this time around, though there is still uncertainty about whether the film is a direct sequel to the previous entries or a reboot of the franchise. Regardless, the story of the new film will reportedly follow the model of its predecessors by centering on a woman who returns to her hometown to investigate a series of murders committed by a masked serial killer.
Williamson has already stated that the next Scream film will distinguish by jettisoning the meta elements of the previous installments. Instead, the new film will take a fresh approach to the material with a "nostalgic factor" running throughout.
While the inclusion of the original cast may seem like an obvious sign that the fifth film is a direct continuation of the previous chapters, studios have a history of rebooting franchises while including some familiar faces. Director David Gordon Green's Halloween, for example, continued the story of Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode while disregarding every previous film in the series with the exception of the original by John Carpenter.
Scream is scheduled to be released in theaters on January 14, 2022.
Source: Kevin Williamson/Twitter