Scream 5 Star Is Hoping Original Characters Survive the Sequel

Actor David Arquette was the first original star of the Scream franchise to confirm he would be returning for the upcoming sequel, and while some actors might be interested in returning to a sequel merely for their character to be killed off, Arquette hopes that his Dewey Riley, along with Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers and Neve Campbell‘s Sidney Prescott, will survive the upcoming adventure. While an actor like Harrison Ford had famously been supporting the death of Han Solo in the original trilogy of films, only to survive until the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Arquette’s love for Dewey has him hoping he’ll get to play him many more times.

“Oh, you never know! Everyone should always be worried!” Arquette shared with Hollywood Life when discussing if original characters could be killed off in the new film. “It’s a very scary horror film! Who knows what can happen! But I’d like to see them all [survive]. I love that they’ve all survived this long.”

When it comes to the world of horror, especially slashers, it’s typically the villain that survives the horrifying ordeal to wreak havoc in a follow-up adventure, and while the original four films all featured a character wearing the Ghostface costume, the villains never survived through the closing credits. Additionally, almost all of the supporting characters introduced in each film ends up being killed, resulting in Sidney, Gale, and Dewey to often be the sole survivors of run-ins with murderers.

The first four films in the series were all directed by Wes Craven, who passed away in 2015. The new film comes from Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and while many fans might assume the upcoming project is set to close a chapter on the franchise, Arquette hopes that this is just a new beginning for the series.

“I love playing the character Dewey. It’s had such an important role in my life,” Arquette previously shared with ComicBook.com. “As an actor, you try to do films that work, that entertain people, that audiences get a kick out of. You seldom do something for a small audience, to talk to a very niche group. The horror fan base is huge so when you really connect with them, and then it even goes beyond that, it’s a really special thing. When [the directors] approached me, I was in first, and now we’ve got Courteney on board, hopefully Neve will join the team and then we can shoot this thing.”

Stay tuned for details on the new Scream, which is set to hit theaters on January 14, 2022.

Do you hope these original characters survive? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!