The Scream franchise returns with a fifth installment starring Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox in their iconic roles. Now, Paramount has scheduled the latest Scream sequel for a theatrical release in early January 2022.
Written by creator Kevin Williamson and directed by legend Wes Craven, Scream was widely credited with reviving horror films through clever nods to the tropes associated with the genre during a period when meta-references weren't as common as today. The success of the original film spawned three sequels, all of which would see Campbell, Arquette, and Cox return as Sidney Prescott, Sheriff Dwight "Dewey" Riley, and writer/journalist Gale Weathers-Riley.
Now, Paramount Pictures has slated the fifth Scream film for release on January 14, 2022, and announced the date in a post on the franchise's official Twitter account. While the video accompanying the news did not feature any footage from the upcoming sequel, it did provide another glimpse at Ghostface while promising the iconic antagonist will know where to find audiences one year from now. As with previous entries in the franchise, the fifth Scream film will center on a young woman who returns to the town of Woodsboro just as the community is being terrorized by a series of murders tied to a masked killer. Joining the legacy cast members in the newest installment of the franchise is a team of newcomers that includes Jack Quaid, Melissa Barrera, and Jenna Ortega.
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a script penned by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, the fifth Scream film will be first the entry in the series that will not be helmed by Craven, who passed away at age 76 in 2015. However, Williamson returns as one of the film's executive producers and Campbell previously stated that she agreed to join the project after the filmmakers convinced her of their reverence for Craven's work on the franchise. Production on the film concluded in mid-November 2020 with the studio announcing the sequel will officially be titled Scream.
At this time, there is still some uncertainty as to whether Scream is a sequel to all four previous films or if it serves as a soft reboot of the franchise. While the inclusion of Campbell, Arquette, and Cox would suggest it is a direct sequel to its predecessors, it may be worth noting that director David Gordon Green's Halloween saw Jamie Lee Curtis reprise her role as Laurie Strode while excising the events of previous films from canon, with the exception of John Carpenter's original horror classic.
The Scream series isn't the only project moving forward without Craven. Get Out director Jordan Peele is set to produce a remake of Craven's The People Under the Stairs, a horror-comedy about a young boy and two thieves who break into the home of an eccentric couple.
Scream is scheduled to be released in theaters on January 14, 2022.
Source: Scream|Twitter