Scream Star Marley Shelton Talks Her Character’s Promotion and Returning to the World of Ghostface

When it comes to the Scream franchise, the only actors to have starred in all four films are Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, all of which have returned for the upcoming Scream sequel. They aren’t the only ones returning to the franchise, however, as Scream 4 introduced audiences to Marley Shelton’s deputy Judy, who has undergone a few changes since we last saw her in 2011. While fans were obviously excited about Shelton’s return, the actor herself was just as surprised as audiences were that another sequel would be developed without series director Wes Craven, who passed away in 2011. The new Scream lands in theaters on January 14, 2022.

“Well, one thing I can tell you guys, there’s a couple of things, she’s been promoted, she’s no longer deputy Judy Hicks, she’s Sheriff Hicks. There’s a lot that comes with that, which I won’t give away, and she also has a teenage son whose an amazing member of our cast,” Shelton confirmed to press during a virtual set visit that ComicBook.com attended. “The character’s name is ‘Wes,’ a little homage, I think, to the late Wes Craven.”

Shelton went on to recall how unlikely she thought a fifth film would be, as well as her excitement that she’d get to return to the series.

“Honestly, it never even occurred to me that they would make another one after four. I just completely put it out of my mind, I’m not sure why, in retrospect, but I was so delighted and surprised when they called me up and now it makes perfect sense,” the actor admitted. “I think it’s fantastic, and what’s great about this relaunch is you’re going to get all of the same things that we love about Scream, which was the self-referencing humor, the making fun of all the horror tropes, that really amazing, snarky tone and yet all while being really scary.”

She added, “I was so excited when I read the script and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, they pulled it off, they did it again,’ they actually hit this incredible tone that’s like threading a needle. And I think Matt [Bettinelli-Olpin] and Tyler [Gillett], our directors, are also really the right guys to take this on and to helm this, I think Wes Craven would have approved of this choice there. I don’t know if you guys saw Ready or Not, but they’re really great at that tone as well. I’m excited and I think this is a great way to relaunch the Scream world.”

Throughout the series, while characters haven’t necessarily made surprise returns, the cast of characters do often have unexpected connections to various corners of the franchise, which is what makes Shelton think the upcoming film will be especially exciting.

“For one thing, there’s that much more backstory, right? I mean, that’s the cool thing with the Scream legacy is, you get more and more invested in these characters because each time everything’s connected to the predecessor and there’s this whole almost lore now surrounding it,” Shelton described of what makes this new endeavor so exciting. “I think that keeps us audience members invested because you’re tracking who’s related to who and remembering different origin stories, and how they relate to the present, so all of that is in this, and yet it also is fresh, and topical, and modern, and new characters, I think that’s the other cool thing. We have a whole fresh, young cast that is super talented, also really cool that they’re diverse, we’ve got more ethnic diversity this time, which is cool. I think that’s going to be awesome for audiences to see, it’s just a new host of talented actors, along with the legacy cast, of course.”

Scream 4 was directed by Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, who also penned the first and second entries in the series, with Shelton recalling her first reaction to reading through the script, knowing that it was developed by an entirely new filmmaking team.

“Well, first of all, Kevin Williamson is still involved, he helped create the original Scream and has been involved ever since, so there’s still that … under that umbrella and that watchful creative eye. And then, again, there’s such a respect and a reverence for Wes Craven and everything that he set in motion and created. I know that Tyler and Matt, our directing team, Radio Silence, they are huge fans of Wes Craven and horror buffs … Because they’re such students of the genre and have such reverence for Wes, I think that you’re going to see that there’s a throughline that they’re carrying, that I think would make Wes Craven very proud.”

She continued, “I certainly felt like the big “okay” to jump in when I read the script. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is a continuation of everything that Wes started.’ And based on seeing their previous movie, Ready or Not, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, these are the guys to carry on this legacy.’ So I guess what I’m saying is I think audience members can feel, or fans of the franchise can rest assured that they’re not going to be disappointed.”

The new Scream lands in theaters on January 14, 2022.

Are you looking forward to the new film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars.