The new Scream was developed by franchise newcomers, with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett serving as directors and having been written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, though original writer Kevin Williamson did return to serve as an executive producer on the project. The film marks the first entry in the franchise in more than a decade, but rather than Williamson’s return to the series reigniting a passion for the material to develop more stories in this series, he confirmed that he saw the project as a chance to hand the franchise over to trusted filmmakers. The new Scream comes to theaters on January 14, 2022.
“I was very nervous about [the new film],” Williamson shared with ComicBook.com. “I was like, ‘How should I feel about this? They’re making a new one.’ And they called me up and asked me to be a part of it. And I was like, ‘Hmm, I don’t want one foot in. That could just hurt.’ And so I said no. Then I got a call from Jamie Vanderbilt and he was so in love with Scream 1, he was so in love with the franchise, he spoke from such a personal place. And then I met [the directors] who made Ready or Not, which is like my favorite part of a bad year, and I just fell in love with them. They just had such heart, they put so much care into it. They were making it for personal reasons.”
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He continued, “It felt good. It felt like it was in great hands and they’re so talented. I was just there whenever they needed me and they kept me a part of it along the way. It just became a very special experience, so I was very happy. But it was a passing of the torch. I’m excited to see what other people think about it because I know the experience was blessed and awesome. I think [original director] Wes [Craven] would be very happy and I think he would love these guys a lot because they speak his language. I just had a really great time. It was a lot of fun. Scream 1 had that heart and soul and we had such a blast making it and I felt they captured that.”
In addition to Williamson returning, the film also sees the return of stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Marley Shelton.
The new Scream lands in theaters on January 14, 2022.
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